Where is God in COVID-19? · 2021. 4. 16. · John 11 1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was...

Where is God in

COVID-19?

Bible Study | The Church of God International, Philippines | May 2, 2020

Faith Series

Many

wonder…

Where is God?

• Sickness

• Suffering

• Death

• Quarantine

• Lock down

• Recession

• Business

disruption

The virus has brought about fear

and disruption.

God sees the

suffering

Why does He not

intervene?

We may want God not to intervene at all.

He destroyed the world with a great flood. He

destroyed the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

when He rained sulfur from heaven. He

devastated nations when He brought the Israelites

to the Promised Land.

Jesus said that God the Father is busy

working today for our salvation.

Our worldly perspective and His divine

perspective are very different.

Isaiah 55:8-9

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Job 37:5

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he

does great things beyond our understanding.

Why are we experiencing

pandemics?

Mankind has departed from the ways of the

Lord. We have disobeyed God’s laws. We know

that the recent viral diseases came from wild

animals. SARS from civet cat. MERS from

camel. Ebola from monkey. And, Covid-19

from bat or pangolin.

Why are we experiencing

pandemics?

God has long since prohibited man from eating

unclean meats (Deuteronomy 14 and Leviticus

11.) We have ignored God’s words and His

dietary laws. Mankind brought these diseases

upon themselves. Our stomachs have become

our God.

How does God look at

COVID-19?

God is aware

3.4m Covid-19 infections

239,600 deaths

19.6m died this year

46.7m new births

God is aware

14.2m infant abortions

4.3m died to communicable diseases

2.7m to cancer

1.6m to smoking

450,000 to road fatalities

359,000 to suicide

327,000 to malaria

162,000 to seasonal flu

103,000 to mothers giving birth

561K to HIV/AIDS

Luke 13 1 Now there were some

present on that occasion

who told him about the

Galileans whose blood Pilate

had mixed with their

sacrifices.

The zealots and rebels were killed while in the temple offering their sacrifices;

and their blood was mingled with the blood of the animals that they were

slaying for sacrifice. To the Jews, it is unimaginable for a group of people to

be killed inside the temple ground while offering sacrifices. The immediate

conclusion was they were victims of divine anger, that God, somehow, had a

hand in their death.

Luke 13 2 He answered them, “Do

you think these Galileans

were worse sinners than all

the other Galileans, because

they suffered these things?

3 No, I tell you! But unless

you repent, you will all

perish as well!

Luke 13 4 Or those eighteen who

were killed when the tower in

Siloam fell on them, do you

think they were worse

offenders than all the others

who live in Jerusalem?

Luke 13 5 No, I tell you! But unless

you repent you will all perish

as well!”

Hebrews 9:27

Just as people are destined to die once,

and after that to face judgment.

Revelation 2:11

Whoever has ears, let them hear what

the Spirit says to the churches. The one

who is victorious will not be hurt at all

by the second death.

1 Corinthians 15

54 When the perishable has been clothed

with the imperishable, and the mortal with

immortality, then the saying that is written

will come true: “Death has been swallowed

up in victory.”

1 Corinthians 15

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power

of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is concerned

about your life, not

your death.

Eternal life is our

victory over sin and

death!

Romans 5

12 Therefore, just as sin

entered the world through

one man, and death

through sin, and in this way

death came to all people,

because all sinned—

Romans 5 18 Consequently, just as one

trespass resulted in

condemnation for all people,

so also one righteous act

resulted in justification and

life for all people.

19 For just as through the

disobedience of the one man

the many were made sinners,

so also through the

obedience of the one man the

many will be made righteous.

Romans 5 20 The law was brought in so

that the trespass might

increase. But where sin

increased, grace increased all

the more,

21 so that, just as sin

reigned in death, so also

grace might reign through

righteousness to bring

eternal life through Jesus

Christ our Lord.

Sin, which is

defined as

lawlessness, puts

you to death.

Christ paid the

death penalty on the

cross so that you

may have eternal

life.

Our faith is in God because we believe

Christ has the power of life and death.

We believe Jesus is the life and the

resurrection. In Him is eternal life.

John 5

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my

word and believes him who sent me has

eternal life and will not be judged but has

crossed over from death to life.”

25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming

and has now come when the dead will hear

the voice of the Son of God and those who

hear will live.

John 6:47

Very truly I tell you, the one who believes

has eternal life.

John 11 1 Now a man named Lazarus

was sick. He was from Bethany,

the village of Mary and her

sister Martha.

2 (This Mary, whose brother

Lazarus now lay sick, was the

same one who poured perfume

on the Lord and wiped his feet

with her hair.)

John 11 3 So the sisters sent word to

Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is

sick.”

4 When he heard this, Jesus

said, “This sickness will not end

in death. No, it is for God’s glory

so that God’s Son may be

glorified through it.”

John 11 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and

her sister and Lazarus.

6 So when he heard that

Lazarus was sick, he stayed

where he was two more days,

7 and then he said to his

disciples, “Let us go back to

Judea.”

John 11 8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a

short while ago the Jews there

tried to stone you, and yet you

are going back?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there

not twelve hours of daylight?

Anyone who walks in the

daytime will not stumble, for

they see by this world’s light.

John 11 10 It is when a person walks at

night that they stumble, for they

have no light.”

11 After he had said this, he

went on to tell them, “Our friend

Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I

am going there to wake him up.”

John 11 12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if

he sleeps, he will get better.”

13 Jesus had been speaking of

his death, but his disciples

thought he meant natural sleep.

John 11 14 So then he told them plainly,

“Lazarus is dead,

15 and for your sake I am glad I

was not there, so that you may

believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas said to the rest

of the disciples, “Let us also go,

that we may die with him.”

John 11 17 On his arrival, Jesus found

that Lazarus had already been

in the tomb for four days.

18 Now Bethany was less than

two miles from Jerusalem,

19 and many Jews had come to

Martha and Mary to comfort

them in the loss of their brother.

John 11 20 When Martha heard that

Jesus was coming, she went out

to meet him, but Mary stayed at

home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus,

“if you had been here, my

brother would not have died.

22 But I know that even now

God will give you whatever you

ask.”

John 11 23 Jesus said to her, “Your

brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he

will rise again in the

resurrection at the last day.”

John 11 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the

resurrection and the life. The

one who believes in me will live,

even though they die;

26 and whoever lives by

believing in me will never die.

Do you believe this?”

John 11 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I

believe that you are the

Messiah, the Son of God, who is

to come into the world.”

28 After she had said this, she

went back and called her sister

Mary aside. “The Teacher is

here,” she said, “and is asking

for you.”

John 11 29 When Mary heard this, she

got up quickly and went to him.

30 Now Jesus had not yet

entered the village, but was still

at the place where Martha had

met him.

John 11 31 When the Jews who had

been with Mary in the house,

comforting her, noticed how

quickly she got up and went

out, they followed her,

supposing she was going to the

tomb to mourn there.

John 11 32 When Mary reached the

place where Jesus was and saw

him, she fell at his feet and said,

“Lord, if you had been here, my

brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus saw her

weeping, and the Jews who had

come along with her also

weeping, he was deeply moved

in spirit and troubled.

John 11 34 “Where have you laid him?”

he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they

replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See

how he loved him!”

John 11 37 But some of them said,

“Could not he who opened the

eyes of the blind man have kept

this man from dying?”

38 Jesus, once more deeply

moved, came to the tomb. It was

a cave with a stone laid across

the entrance.

John 11 39 “Take away the stone,” he

said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the

sister of the dead man, “by this

time there is a bad odor, for he

has been there four days.”

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not

tell you that if you believe, you

will see the glory of God?”

John 11 41 So they took away the stone.

Then Jesus looked up and said,

“Father, I thank you that you

have heard me.

42 I knew that you always hear

me, but I said this for the

benefit of the people standing

here, that they may believe that

you sent me.”

John 11 43 When he had said this,

Jesus called in a loud voice,

“Lazarus, come out!”

44 The dead man came out, his

hands and feet wrapped with

strips of linen, and a cloth

around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off

the grave clothes and let him

go.”

John 11 45 Therefore many of the Jews

who had come to visit Mary, and

had seen what Jesus did,

believed in him.

46 But some of them went to

the Pharisees and told them

what Jesus had done.

John 11 47 Then the chief priests and

the Pharisees called a meeting of

the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?”

they asked. “Here is this man

performing many signs.

48 If we let him go on like this,

everyone will believe in him, and

then the Romans will come and

take away both our temple and

our nation.”

John 11 49 Then one of them, named

Caiaphas, who was high priest

that year, spoke up, “You know

nothing at all!

50 You do not realize that it is

better for you that one man die

for the people than that the

whole nation perish.”

John 11 51 He did not say this on his

own, but as high priest that

year he prophesied that Jesus

would die for the Jewish nation,

52 and not only for that nation

but also for the scattered

children of God, to bring them

together and make them one.

53 So from that day on they

plotted to take his life.

Life experiences change

us. Some are drawn

towards God; others are

drawn away from God.

We decide which group

we want to be in.

COVID-19 is life

changing.

How will people’s

lives and mindsets

change?

We hope there will be a spiritual change, a

spiritual revival and renewal in all of us.

We can all use this pandemic experience to draw

closer and near to the Eternal Father and our Lord

Jesus Christ.

The most important and precious thing we learn

from this experience is that life is precious.

And, this life can be everlasting. Eternal life is our

hope. This is what we must strive for with our

whole being.

Therefore, my dear

friends, as you have

always obeyed—not only

in my presence, but now

much more in my

absence—continue to

work out your salvation

with fear and trembling.

Philippians

2:12

Psalm 103 13 As a father has

compassion on his children,

so the Lord has compassion

on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are

formed,

he remembers that we are

dust.

Psalm 103 15 The life of mortals is like

grass,

they flourish like a flower of

the field;

16 the wind blows over it and

it is gone,

and its place remembers it no

more.

Psalm 103 17 But from everlasting to

everlasting

the Lord’s love is with those

who fear him,

and his righteousness with

their children’s children—

18 with those who keep his

covenant

and remember to obey his

precepts.

Ezekiel 33:11

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares

the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in

the death of the wicked, but rather that

they turn from their ways and live.

2 Peter 1

3 His divine power has given us everything

we need for a godly life through our

knowledge of him who called us by his own

glory and goodness.

4 Through these he has given us his very

great and precious promises, so that

through them you may participate in the

divine nature.

Where is God in

COVID-19?

God is near you and He is

watching over you.

Let us take this experience to

work towards our victory

over sin and death. Thanks

be to God for the victory

through Jesus Christ our

Lord.

2 Corinthians 4

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though

outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we

are being renewed day by day.

17 For our light and momentary troubles are

achieving for us an eternal glory that far

outweighs them all.

2 Corinthians 4

18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on

what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary,

but what is unseen is eternal.

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Bible Study | The Church of God International, Philippines | June 6, 2020 | 2:30 PM