April 24, 2020
A HEAVENLY RESPONSE TO A GLOBAL CRISIS
“Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.’ And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice” (1Ki 19:11-12).
I’m beginning this exhortation with this particular Scriptural citing because, like Elijah, we are all faced with much noise and activity, ‘preaching’ to us directives that will steer our lives. If we are not careful we will be steered into ultimate disaster instead of God’s promise of victory. Just because something is being proclaimed loudly, or flashy, doesn’t mean it holds the final say, or is the best route for us to take. Paul, writing to the Corinthian church, said “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification” (1Co 14:10, KJV). In other words, there may be a variety of people talking, some with high ranking positions (doctors, politicians, news anchors, school teachers [and their leaders]—even close acquaintances) that will speak their minds on the current outward circumstances of life. Some will have credible resources to back their claims; others will just be blabbing unfounded opinions of what others are saying. It’s up to us, individually, to decide what (or whom) we are going to believe and order the activities of our lives by.
As in our opening Scripture, Elijah was presented with a variety of ‘messages’ – the first was a “great and strong wind” which tore into the mountains and broke the rocks into pieces. WOW! Surely that had to be God talking, right? I mean, He’s the Almighty. When He’s on the scene the earth quakes and rocks split, so it had to be Him. Yet the Scripture goes on to say, “the LORD was not in the wind.” – Let’s do a ‘rule of thumb’ here – ALWAYS look to Scripture to interpret Scripture. In other words, look for the Holy Spirit’s commentary on something BEFORE embracing it as a message from God (more on that in a bit).
Let’s get back to Elijah’s encounter. “After the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.” Here is another magnificent display of power that God was NOT the Author of. A side-note: people who are written about in the Bible did not have the benefit of Scripture available to them like we do, so they did not have the Holy Spirit’s commentary (or insight) into something. When there was activity going on that could not be naturally explained they attributed everything to God. Take Job for example; he faced all kinds of trouble, so he said (in his ignorance) “the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away” (Job 1:21). It took a supernatural visitation of God to straighten out his theology: “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). We have this entire account recorded for our learning and admonition, Job and his ‘friends’ did not.
Remember the question Jesus posed to His disciples? “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets’” (Mat 16:13-14). Have you ever thought about their response? Why were people saying Jesus must have been John the Baptist (who had recently been beheaded), or Elijah, or Jeremiah? These were all dead prophets; their assumption was somebody from the other world had to have come back to life for the supernatural activity Jesus displayed to take place. They had no concept that Jesus was conducting His ministry in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and the Covenant of Abraham. – That, my brothers and sisters – is what religion will do to limit God’s activity in the earth (see Psalm 78:41)!
Back to Elijah; “after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.” Are you kidding me? All of these spectacular displays of power, and God was not in any or it? That’s what the Bible says! Stick with the Book. Another side note: (if you’ve read after me, at all, you’ve already read the following; but, it bears repeating) there are two main rules I’d like to get you to govern your thinking when it comes to Scriptural doctrines:
- Look to God’s commentary regarding what He has said about something to obtain His interpretation of it. Another way to say it is use Scripture to interpret Scripture. Jesus used this method in His wilderness trial when the devil told Him to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, citing that God would give His angels charge over Him to protect Him (Psalm 91:11). Jesus responded: “It is written again, Thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matt. 4:7). So, by quoting this last Scripture, Jesus gave us the criterion for ‘judging’ (or, interpreting) Scripture: stay within the confines of what God has already said about something.
- When the Spirit of God is speaking (or actively doing something) He will always point to the Lordship of Jesus!
- “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit” (1Cor. 12:3). This verse is letting us know that if the Holy Spirit is speaking He won’t speak bad things about Jesus, but will exalt His Lordship.
- “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1Jn 4:1-3).
This last verse tells us to “test the spirits whether they are of God.” How do we “test the spirits”? John tells us: “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.” Let me do a Mike Leach paraphrase: every spirit that magnifies what Jesus has done by coming in the flesh, every spirit that exalts the Lordship of Jesus IS OF GOD! Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave by His coming in the flesh. “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:14-15).
What is this Scripture saying? By coming in the flesh, by dying the death of the cross, by being raised from the dead Jesus destroyed the very thing that has kept Mankind in bondage—DEATH (or, for the purpose of this teaching, the spawn of death, which is sickness, disease and the like)! What does that have to do with this present crisis? Covid-19 is a curse that brings death. Jesus has redeemed us from the curse (see Galatians 3:13). Furthermore, He has been given THE NAME that is above EVERY name:
- “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Php 2:9-11).
Corona virus (Covid-19) is a name – and it must, has to, does bow to the Name of Jesus! This, my friends, is the still small voice that will obliterate all fear of this pandemic. When Elijah heard that still small voice he was strengthened to run his race.
If you’re still not sure whether this has come to us by the Hand of God, let me quote two more Scriptures (if these don’t convince you, then you have no hope!):
- “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
- “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jas 1:17).
Corona virus (or any other disastrous activity) is NOT a good or perfect gift; so, it’s not from God and therefore can (and should) be resisted. Be assured of this: if you are going to take your stand with God, He will back you up! I can hear the Lord say, “Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?” (Isa 50:2). I like the way the Message Bible puts it: “Do you think I’ve forgotten how to help? Am I so decrepit that I can’t deliver? I’m as powerful as ever.”
In closing, I’m not saying to completely disregard everything being said regarding this pandemic. Just judge it in light of what Jesus said that we are in this world, but we are not of it. “[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Col 1:13, AMP classic edition). Did you get that? We have been taken from the authority and dominion of darkness and positioned into the Kingdom of God. We are citizens of Heaven, not subjects of the realm of darkness! Bless you all! Let’s all grow in God! Jesus is Lord!! –ML