Spiritual Preparedness
This sermon has the theme of “Spiritual Preparedness”. 5 years ago Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft gave a prophetic TED talk about the world being prepared for a virus pandemic see the link to his video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Af6b_wyiwI Was he listened to, the answer is no. Bill Gates said it was not a matter of if a pandemic would break out but when.
5 years later the world is struggling with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and the world is definitely ill prepared with exception of a few east asian nations such as South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. The reason for their preparedness is that they learnt lessons from a m.e.r.s. coronavirus outbreak 5 years earlier.
The American military has a vast budget, they spend as much on their military as the rest of the major countries of the world put together. If they had spent a small fraction of this budget on preparations the U.S would be in a much better position today. They could have stocked warehouses with PPE, have factories and laboratories prepared and ready to scale up production of test kits and medical supplies.
This would have saved a lot of deaths and economic disruption today, so far 50,000 people have died in America, 18,000 in the UK at time of writing. This is maybe the biggest oversight and failure of intelligence of the 21st century.
Regarding preparedness for the coronavirus, there is an even bigger question, is the world prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ. No-one knows when this will happen, but it is a very relevant question.
A related question is that the coronavirus is seriously affecting all ages, not just the old. In an I.C.U. near the M4 corridor the doctors were surprised that all of their patients were in their 50s or younger with no older people. See the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejlbCmRJMW4 People of all ages are dying, not just those with underlining conditions and so with the young death is no longer a distant prospect never to be though about.
So is the world prepared for Jesus Christ, we would have to say realistically that it is not. Jesus himself said that the world is not in Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."
So how can the world be spiritually prepared, it should ask the right questions and come to the right conclusions about Jesus Christ. Jesus is not defined by us, rather it is the other way round, we are defined by our reaction to Jesus. A person can become a christian because Jesus suits their agenda, however that is a false view, we should be a follower of his because we want to suit his agenda.
The following are a number of misconceptions about Jesus: Some people say that if they live a good life they will go to heaven. The fallacy of this is that God’s standard of perfection is 100% which no human being has ever reached. Saint Paul has said in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The only way we are made perfect in God’s eyes is accepting by faith the sacrifice for sin that Jesus made on our behalf on the cross. We cannot save ourselves, only Jesus can save us by removing the barrier of sin that separates us from God.
Another misconception is that Christianity is one religion amongst many that can lead to God. Christianity is unique in that it deals with the problem of sin and Christianity is the only major religion where its founder has risen from the dead. The founders of all the other religions are in their graves. Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Notice that Jesus said that he was the way not a way meaning salvation can only come via him.
Christianity is all about our relationship with God and not just agreeing with historical facts. With any relationship we have to spend time with that person, do we spend time with God in prayer, reading our bibles to see what Jesus has to say to us, do we have a quiet time with God.
Faith and obedience go hand in hand, many can claim to be christian and not follow the teachings of Jesus, do we follow with the help of the Holy Spirit the principles of the 10 commandments in our lives ? Are we active members of a church. Hebrews 10:24-25 says: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. People not attending church was a problem in New Testament times and we have the same problem today and for some it is very low on their list of priorities. A committed follower of Jesus will be obedient to the teaching of Hebrews 10:24-25 to attend church regularly.
In communist China the authorities closed the churches during the cultural revolution and they thought they had won, however the church moved underground and met in peoples homes. The church has experienced its strongest growth in China and other parts of the developing world.