We are living in very unusual times. We are living in difficult times. One of the things God has shown me is two pandemics not just placating the church world, but also the world in general.
There is a pandemic of people giving themselves over to a spirit of fear. People are afraid to go about their normal routine. People get uncomfortable when someone does not wear a mask. People get worried when their throat scratches. People have spent much time soaking up information about this virus.
People have given their minds over to the “new normal”. People are getting used to doing Zoom meetings rather than in-person meetings. Some people think it is better this way and should stay this way. Let me say this, nothing is normal about this!
Not only have people given themselves over to a spirit of fear, but people have even given themselves over to idolatry. It has been made mainstream that it is “patriotic” to go by all the rules to a T and that we should even embrace the rules and the new normal. You can be given over to idolatry to many things: your car, house, spouse, finances, etc. But one of the most common forms of idolatry is an idolatry of self, and this one is often ignored.
There is a hype about a coming vaccine to get us back to normal they say. Let me tell you something, if you have hope in a vaccine, you have given yourself over to idolatry. A vaccine will not save you. The Lord has shown me in a dream that people will be forced to receive this vaccine. There will be so much cultural pressure to get this vaccine more than what there is for the annual flu shot.
Here’s part of the problem. People have bowed down to the government, schools, colleges, and workplaces telling us how to stay safe. But Christians do not realize what Scripture already tells us about walking through times like this. We are to walk by faith, not by sight. We were not given a spirit of fear, but one of love, power, and a sound mind. Yet why are we walking by fear? Churches closed for months, and many are still closed. Few churches remained open, and some caught on within the first few weeks of tyrant government orders what is really going on.
It is amazing how politically correct the church can get, but it can still be so far from Biblically correct. Part of what we are commissioned to do is lay hands on the sick and cast out demons (see Mark 16:17-18). How can that be done if most churches were closed for months at a time? The Apostles in the Book of Acts were told by government officials to not preach in the name of Jesus, did they stop? No, they did not. The Full Gospel not only includes repentance of sin (which is critical) but also healing and deliverance. Look up the original Greek for the word saved in the New Testament, it means saved, healed, and delivered. If we are not laying hands on the sick and casting out devils, then we are missing part of the Gospel. Churches must assemble in person, whether in an official building, outside, or underground. In short terms, the government may have permitted preaching over Facebook Live, but it did not permit Christians to go into Hospitals and lay hands on the sick or to cast out demons. Therefore, by government mandate, we were ordered by our own government to practically give up a majority of what we were commissioned to do by Jesus Christ.
Dear Christian, are we going to stand and begin preaching the Full Gospel as commanded? Or we going to get all wrapped up in the philosophy of man and bow down to the spirit of fear and boost our egos because we are patriotic and conforming to the ‘new normal’.
Romans 12:2 (AMP) “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].”