Today we are examining: Escaping Coronavirus Onslaught Through Righteous Living. Now, it looks like it is a deliberate title. It is because we are in a time, in a season whereby we need deliberate solutions to a specific problem. And I want us to read the book of Hebrews that we are familiar with. Hebrews 1:8-9. We will spend some moments meditating on these few verses as the Lord opens our eyes in Jesus' name. The Bible says:
Listen To Podcast: Coronavirus Onslaught Through Righteous Living”>ESCAPING CORONAVIRUS ONSLAUGHT THROUGH RIGHTEOUS LIVING
"But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
I want us to be noting something from that verse because the Bible have made us to realize that whatever the Lord does, Bible says is forever. Now the Scriptures says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
It is not "they have loved righteousness" it is you have loved righteousness, "and hated lawlessness." That is to show us that there is a positive, there is a negative. There is the good, there is the bad. But you have chosen the good. And like Jesus told Mary, He said "No one shall be able to take it away from you." That makes it to be lasting. You see, there are certain decisions we make in life that gives us a result that is enduring, that is lasting, in spite of what is happening around us, in spite of what is happening, perhaps even in our community. Let me say this again from another angle: It is possible for you to make a choice that will give you a different experience from what every other person is going through, and your experience will not be a momentary experience, it will be a lasting experience simply because you made a particular choice.
Mary made a choice that was different from what Martha made, and her experience was different and it was a lasting experience. Jesus said; "no one will be able to take it away from her" meaning it will be a perpetual experience. So, you are not in health accidentally and you are not telling yourself that "maybe, I may be infected with virus." If you are not infected with it now, you will not be infected. And that is it, because whatever God gives you, is lasting. Whatever step or decision that God guides you to make, it is going to be an enduring decision, and enduring step. So, it is not something that happens to you per chance. Look at what that verse says again:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
I am sure we can see the sequence. It begins with "your throne, O God, if forever and ever" meaning it continues and it lasts very long. "A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom." So we can deduce that it is because there is righteousness entrenched in His kingdom, that is why His throne is forever. So, if there is an issue with the matter of His righteousness, then there will be an issue with His authority over a long period of time. So, it means even though He had been in authority, in royalty for so long, if only there could be something that tampers with His state of righteousness, then His authority that had been in the past would no longer continue.
Now, if we read the book of Daniel and we read the story of Nebuchadnezzar, he was the king of kings; the greatest king on the earth. And at a point, pride entered into him. And the Bible says God delivered a judgment to him through an angel and God said in Daniel 4:17:
This decision is by the decree of the watchers,
And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the lowest of men.’
Now, if you read the preceding verse, you will see how the judgment of God came upon Nebuchadnezzar and verse 16 Bible says "let his heart be changed from that of a man, let him be given the heart of a beast and let seven times past over him." And the Bible says in verse 17 that we read that "this decision is by the decrees of the watchers." Now, if you read the verses before it, you will see how Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest king and he had sovereignty. And when the judgment came upon him, you will see how he lost his dominion and his authority. His sovereignty was taking from him. And when the mercy of God came upon him in the same chapter verse 36, you will see what the Bible says: "At the same time.." At the time when his reasoning came back to him, when he acknowledged that it is God that rules in the affairs of men, Bible says: "my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me."
Now, if you also remember the story of Samuel and Saul, you will note that God's judgment came upon Saul through Samuel, and God said; "the kingdom that was going to be established will no long be established but shall be taken away and be given to another." So, it means if a man has a kingdom, it does not mean that it is a lasting kingdom. A kingdom is a state of having authority over a people. Now, what will keep your authority for a long period of time is what the Lord is showing us today. And if you must escape Coronavirus, not by mistake but escape it in perpetuity, then it means there is a decision that God is helping you to make that is different from what everybody is making, that is going to exempt you for the rest of your life. That is what the Lord is showing us and let us go back to the same Hebrews that we started with. Hebrews chapter 1, from verse 8-9.
Verse 9 says: "You have loved righteousness.." and we must see something there. It had become a state of being. He loved it. It was not an accidental discharge. It was not an accidental happening, it has become a way of life. And so we can see culture from here, we can see an attitude of a person. You have an attitude of righteousness. You love it. You have the spirit of righteousness in you. You are not just trying to be good; you are simply a good person. And if you must understand this, then we will not struggle with what the Lord is preparing for us today. That passage says: "You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God has anointed you."
So, it means that God has not anointed you simply because God loves your face. You have been not been anointed by God simply because you are taller and somebody is shorter than you. It is simply because you love something that others hate and you hate something that others love. Your choice has positioned you in a place of justification while other peoples choices has brought them to the place of condemnation. This is why we must understand how our choices, our decisions positions us. It is not as if God will just judge you, your choices will position you to be judged, either in a place to be condemned or in a place to be justified. The latter part of that passage says "God has anointed you With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."
So, others could have some gladness in their hearts, but the Lord has anointed you much more than them. So, you have it. And the question in my spirit is: can a man be aware that he is infected with Coronavirus and be glad? Can somebody be infected with virus and be glad? The answer is, No! What comes is once people are infected, sorrow comes in, because the first thing that comes in is the knowledge or the impression that they might die. Now, so when somebody is infected with the virus, there is no joy. No gladness, it is sorrow. But Bible says because you love righteousness, you hate lawlessness, therefore God has anointed you with the oil of gladness. God has lubricated your own gladness. Your gladness has no reason to break down.
You know when a car has lubrication, it continues, especially when there is enough fuel. But when the lubrication is little, the engine will actually have issues. There may be engine failure. So, the iron that are making contacts are not lubricated. You don't just struggle to be joyful, you are joyful from the inside out. Why? You love righteousness and you hated iniquity, therefore God has anointed you more than others with the oil of gladness, so your gladness has no limit, your gladness has no end. Can you say amen to that? When we are looking at righteousness, one of the things that came to my spirit is what are the things that I can get as a person by living a righteous life? I am sure many of us have heard about righteousness countless times, I do not want to say the things that many preachers have said to us about righteousness, I just want to show us how righteous living is different from every other kind of living, and it could become your escape from Coronavirus.
But before we do that, I want us to see something in John 3:14, because according to what we read, the opposite of righteousness is lawlessness. And you must understand that it is not as if those who are lawless have two or three heads, it is not about the heads. Let us see what produces righteousness or lawlessness in a people. John 3:14-16; the Bible says:
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world.." I am sure we talk about World Health Crisis and pandemic today. The same world that has pandemic or has health crisis, Bible says "God loves the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes (in the Son) believes in Him should not perish (in the midst of perilous pestilence) but have everlasting life. And we are talking about righteous living. So, I want us to begin to meditate on eternal life and righteous living. Is there a different between a man who has eternal life and a man who has a righteous life? I want us to be meditating on that. But that verse 14 says "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,"
It is not as if the Son of man will lift something up. The Son of Man Himself will be lifted up. And I want us to see that place in numbers where Moses actually raised up as serpent in the wilderness and for what purpose was it done. Numbers 21, we will read from verse 4-9 so that we will see what led to what Moses did and perhaps why we need Christ now. The Bible says:
"Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way." I am sure we understand the soul? There was a time Mary was prophesying when she met Elizabeth saying "My Soul magnifies the Lord." And we must understand that when we are talking about your soul, we are not talking about your head or your mouth or your leg. We are simply talking about the part of you that is invisible but yet, directs the visible part of you. The Bible says their souls became very discouraged in the way and then what happens afterwards? See verse 5 below.
"And the people spoke against God." So, they would not have spoken against God if their soul had not become discouraged on the way. So it seems there was an attack on their soul before they actually spoke against God. And so, when the and against Moses, they said:
“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died." Now, we don't have the statistics. We don't know how many people that were infected and how many people died, but the Scripture says many of the people of Israel died.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses (those who haven't died), and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived."
Certain words are important for us to consider. The soul of the people got discouraged and Bible says they began to speak words against God, they began to murmur and complain, they began to ridicule God. In fact, the provision of God for their lives, they began to disregard it. And because of their complain, Bible says God sent a fiery serpent among them. And so, it started biting them. And when they cried to God and ask for forgiveness, did God take away the serpent from among them? But did God made a way for them in the midst of it? Yes! That is the pattern that we must understand today. In the book of 2 Corinthians 12, the story of apostle Paul. It says there was so much revelation, but lest he become puffed up by the multitude of the revelation that he had, Bible says "A thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan was given to him." And apostle Paul said because of this matter, I beseeched the Lord three times that the thorns be taken away from him. And God said to him: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness."
Your weakness is like what the children of Israel were going through, being beaten by snakes. There was their weakness, that was their struggle, that was their threats. That was something that was threatening their survival. And they saying God, please take away these threats to our lives. And just like in the days of the children of Israel, God said to Paul "my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness." So, you don't rely on yourself for survival. You only rely on grace of God. Now, the snakes were biting the people, many snakes. Now, a snake was made and hanged on the pole. Now, anyone bitten by the snake and looks up, will leave. And so, anyone bitten by the snake and refused to look up will die. So, the death is not at the absence of solution, the death is at the refusal of men to recognizing and accepting the solution of God for them.
Even in this season where people are being infected with Coronavirus and dying, the solutions of God is available. God instructed Moses and say "make a fiery serpent and hang it so that anyone bitten by the snake can look and be saved." Can they look at it if they did not believe? That is why the word that the Lord has given to us in this season is "believe." And I want us before we leave here to go to Isaiah 28:16 so that we will see that in every generation, God always have a witness for Himself. God has a solution, a way of escape for His people in every generation. Isaiah 28:16, the Bible says:
Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
Another word for a "sure foundation" is a "lasting foundation" to show us that when God sets something in place, it remains in perpetuity. Today, we talk about panic decisions, panic buying, et cetera. Some people can even relocate panicking. Some people will divorce in this period even in a panic mood. Some people will get married in a panic mood. There will be panic decisions among men. But the Bible says "Whoever believes will not act hastily." The one who believes in who? Believes in the Lord and the stone that the Lord has set in Zion. Others could be complaining there is a casting down; you are not supposed to say that, you are supposed to say there is a rising up for you. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, it will not come near you.
How will it be so? You must trust God in the provisions that He has made available for you. There is a provision of God for your safety. There are snakes, but the Bible says one solution. Many problems, one way out. There are not many solutions; there is only one way out. Snakes were biting them. So, three people could be bitten by three different kind of snakes but yet, there solutions is one, what the Lord has commanded. What the Lord has raised up. The Lord has raised up for them a fiery snake hanged on the pole has commanded by God through Moses and anyone who is bitten and looks, will find solution, will live. So, if you will leave beyond this Coronavirus or onslaught on the earth, then you must look at what God has instituted. You must look unto what God has established. Bible says they looked unto Him, their faces were radiant, and they were not ashamed. Looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.
In that John chapter 3 that we read, verse 16, it says "And as Moses lifted up the serpent." The question is, Moses did not lift up the serpent until the people sinned. It was because the people sinned and there was a pandemic pestilence among the people that prompted Moses to raise up a serpent for them to exempt them from evil. So, if there is no sin of mankind, then there will be no Coronavirus. Haven gotten Coronavirus on the earth, it is important for us to look at what God has already established for our salvation. There is no salvation anywhere else other than in Christ Jesus. God has established Christ. John 3:14-15 says: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." A life that has no tenure, that has no term. A life that has no expiry date, that is above principality and above authorities. And that is one of the things that we want to see, and we will also see about righteous living. A man who is living a righteous life is the man who has the eternal life in him. A man whose life is not under circumstances, who lives above the circumstances.
Jesus said to Nicodemus in verse 5 of that John 3. He said "most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." He cannot enter into a realm where God determines who rules, a realm where there is exception and escape, a realm where you are not sick, you are not in need of healing, a supernatural realm. And you know Jesus even said the kingdom of God does not come by physical observation. He said the kingdom of God is within you. You can get to a place where the Spirit of God begins to indwell you. See verse says: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." That which is born of the flesh is flesh and it is subject to flesh things. Any attack against the flesh will be an attack against such. But that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Meaning that it lives spiritually. It survives through spiritual means. It carries in it spiritual capacities and possibilities. That which is born of the Spirit. And the reason why we have to go through this is not because we have not been born at all, it is because there is sin on the earth and evil on the earth.
Therefore, the only way a man can live above sin and above the evil of the earth is to be born of water and born of the Spirit. It says further that for God so love the world. God does not want the world to perish. When the snakes were also biting the people, God loved the people who were also bitten by the snake. When they cried out to God for mercy, God made a provision for their escape. Not all of them took it, but as many that took it, they were excused from the evil. In John 1:11-12 says: "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." His own did not receive Him because they did not believe Him. Because they did not believe in Him and His name, what God has sent Him to do for them they could not enjoy it.
It is in believing that we will be saved. The salvation of God is in Christ Jesus. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so also God has raised up in Zion a stone for our salvation, a sure foundation, a sure cornerstone, a precious one. Anyone who believes in Him, who believes in His name is given the right to become the Sons of God. And Romans 8:14 says "for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." They are the ones who are above circumstances. I remember the story of apostle Paul very clearly. When he was taken by the ship through Malta to Rome. And then they sailed through an Island where they had a stop, and Bible says when he was trying to kindle the fire, a snake came from the fire and bit him, and other people were saying apostle Paul must have been a wicked man, and that he was running away from justice. And they are like nemesis has caught up with him eventually. And they were waiting, and looking that this man who has been infected with the virus; when will he die. They were waiting for him to become symptomatic. After a while when they did not see anything happened to him, they concluded that he must be a god.
What is happening? He has become a son of God. Why? He is a man who is led by the Spirit of God. He has been of water, born of the Spirit. For God so loved the world that He made provision for salvation in Christ Jesus, and apostle Paul has received Christ as his personal Lord and Savior and he has decided to live his life following the direction of the Spirit of Christ on a daily basis, and that is what we called righteous living, which produced an escape for him over every infection and pestilence. When he was bitten by the snake, the venom of the snake could not over power him. And that is what God is telling us today. There is power available for us in our righteousness.
There are quite a number of things I quickly want to read out. We may not have to read the verses very well, but they are some of the things that we get because we chose to live a righteous life. Don't forget, we don't live a righteous life accidentally, it is simply a deliberate decision of yours that has capacity to exempt you from every evil. Now, one of the things that I have noted is this. Number one is that there will be no hunger. Do you understand? And another thing that I noted is that you will have life. You know, Jesus said in John 10:10: "the thief comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. But I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly." So, eternal life is enough life. You have an overflow of a life that flows from now till eternity. The Scriptures for these are Proverbs 10:3, the second one that talks about life is Proverbs 10:11.
In Proverbs 10:31, the Bible makes us to understand that righteous living produces abundance of wisdom. Some people have some wisdom, but there are people as well who have well enough wisdom. Wisdom enough for them to rise above every pressure, every attack and every opposition. Some people are smart, some people are wise. Those who live righteous life have access to abundance of wisdom. Another benefit of righteous living which goes beyond excusing you from every Coronavirus is that you have enough riches. Proverbs 15:6 made us to see this. Enough riches. In the book of Proverbs 18:10, we are made to realize that righteous living will also save you. The Bible says:
The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
The righteous run to it and are [e]safe.
They run! So there is still something that they are doing, but one thing that really characterize their life is who they are: they are righteous. They possess eternal life and the Bible says they have safety. Another passage is Proverbs 28:1 which talks about boldness. It says "the righteous they are as bold as lion." So, if you are going through so much threats, attack and opposition towards your community and city and you are a righteous man, there will be boldness. You cannot explain why you are always afraid? Then we should check your righteousness. Are you living the life of Christ or are you living the life of this world? Because the opposite of righteousness is lawlessness, and it is being worldly. Another thing is in Proverbs 29:2: authority and influence. Righteousness produces authority and influence. The Bible says:
When the righteous (and I want you to note this word; "when" and not "if")
are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
When the righteous are in authority, which shows that it is only a matter of time. If you have the attitude of righteousness, you will be in authority. Perhaps you think you are a nobody, you should continue. It is a matter of time. Your authority is not in doubt, except you are not living a righteous life. The last point I want to give there is in Proverbs 14:34. It is a verse that is popular and we quote every now and then. It says:
Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people.
Sin is a reproach. Sin sinks anybody. Righteousness lifts up everybody. If you are righteous, if you are living the life of God, a spiritual life, you will experience promotion. The Bible says promotion does not come from the East or the West, it does not come from all those places that people are looking at. Promotion comes only from God. And Bible says righteousness exalts a nation. In the book of Hebrews that we read, it says because you have loved righteousness and hated iniquity, the Lord your God has anointed you more than your companions. That is exaltation. Another word for exaltation is development, advancement. If you are a righteous people, then you will be a developed people, an advance people. It is unrighteousness that makes a nation to remain underdeveloped even for decades.
No wonder the Bible says when the righteous rules, the people rejoice. And so, it is important that we understand that. Now one of the things that came to my spirit as I was reading that Numbers 21 and I just want to read it to us. Numbers 21:8-9, we have read it already. When serpents began to bite, they prayed to God. I am sure they were expecting God to remove the serpents, that was their first thought. Another thought is that God will give them some kind of immune system against the venom of the snake, but that was not what happened. They were expecting God to do something all by Himself from heaven without engaging men. The sin of mankind brought the serpent, and so, if the serpent power will not be over them; then it means God also needed them to do something about it. And that is what I want to read out.
The same way the Coronavirus entered the earth and mankind that it will go back. The same way it came, that is the same way it will go. Those who created it must cancel or cure it. However everyone who believes in God's own solution, Christ Jesus, will live beyond this pandemic. This is very instructive; it is like a double-edged sword. Those who created it, they will cancel it, it is definite. Another one, while they are looking for how to cancel it, anyone who believes in Christ Jesus and who looks on to Christ Jesus will this hour, find safety in Christ. That is the word of God.
As serpent was raised up, that is how God has raised up Christ Jesus for us now. It is our sins as a people that has brought us here, and we must get out of it individually by our faith in God through Christ Jesus.
Amen!
