Mat. 6:24-34 24
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [g] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

My dear friends, servants of Christ, the Lord,

Love, peace and joy be with all of you! What a marvellous day it is today to worship the living God at this time – March 2020!

However, there is a new word which everyone knows now, a big, new and fearsome word: PANDEMIC.

What am I talking about? What pandemic? Would you tell me please?

True, the Covoid-19/Coronavirus (Pandemic 1) is now a pandemic affecting the whole world, but there are 2 other pandemics around today and this Coronavirus pandemic is the least of my worries.

Rather, the most unimportant and most dreadful of the three of them is this: the worldwide Pandemic of Sin and Death (Pandemic 2). It kills us all – each one of us! Not one person on earth is exempt. It’s the Original sin in our hearts which condemns us to death and hell.

But a great and wonderful miracle happened, John 3,16. God sent his only Son to die for us, in our place, so that we may defeat death and live forever. The is the Gospel, the greatest news in the whole world! You know that. Please live that!

What I really want to talk about is the 3 rd Pandemic which has suddenly spread worldwide. It is the awful Pandemic of Fear (Pandemic 3) T

his pandemic too can absolutely destroy your life – so much worse than the Covid-19/Corona pandemic. The pandemic of fear is caused by Pandemics 1 and 2. It is caused by our sin – which, without Christ, has been our death sentence. It is also been caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic, that least important pandemic. It exposes the human heart: fear, fear, fear of death and dying.

Many people are truly terrified – and engage in irrational behaviour, like this truly shocking panic buying. What animal-instinct behaviour and what selfishness! I am not playing down the importance of this dreadful virus. Indeed, at worst, it could kill you. It’s very serious. Do follow the rules: wash your hands. Disinfect surfaces, wear face masks if required. Minimise travel etc. All that and more! But don’t fall victim to the Pandemic of Fear!

I believe that this is a critical moment in your life, the day of destiny and decision. This is the moment where Christians should stand out and let their faith shine – and say goodbye to fear. “Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world.” 1 John 5:4. Stop living that DOUBLE LIFE! You go to church, confess your sins and confess your faith but, at the same time, too many live in fear as though your God is dead and as though your life is in the hands of mortal doctors, and the virus. Don’t make that virus the lord of your life! No, cast out that fear – and do it today!

What is the worst thing that could happen to you as the result of that Coronavirus?

Indeed, you could die!

Apparently heaven is quite an unpopular place. A song says, “Heaven is a wonderful place full of glory and praise!” But, please, Lord, don’t send me there, not anytime soon! – For sure, you agree that heaven is a nice place to finish up in eventually after all else has failed, but you love life on earth a hundred times more! Isn’t that what your attitude tells me?

Let’s say that one person in this room, one of the 100 people gathered here this morning for worship, is called upon to die and enter heaven by midnight tonight.

Any volunteers? [I noticed just 2 hands going up half way only, very timidly.]

How about me? – I admit, I am a feeble Christian myself. O.k. I’ll die but I first want to talk to my wife and I’d rather not die in a foreign country like Myanmar. Honestly, I feel a bit lukewarm about death. God forgive me.

Actually, I have no idea why God is so good to me. I’m living on borrowed time anyway. We all are, also young people. Life is an undeserved gift we are given for a short time. Anyone can die anytime. Last June I suddenly became very sick and a top specialist doctor discovered stones in my bladder, a cancer in one of my kidneys and was near-certain that my prostate was full of cancer also. All this at one time. I wasn’t all that sure that I would see Christmas last year.

To cut a long story short, one month ago, that same doctor in Brisbane, said to me, after a final, thorough check-over, August, you are healed! You are cured! I had not needed any chemotherapy or radium, no drugs, no medication, nothing.

Maybe God just couldn’t help himself but heal me. After all, I knew that literally thousands nearly all around the world were praying for me last year. Incredible. For example, I have a picture, sent to me, of a whole Sunday School class in the Philippines praying for me.

I understand the huge impact that virus is having on so may people. The world economy could collapse. You may lose your job, your income. You may not be able to meet loan repayments. Yes, it can become very, very bad.

Yet this is the time of decision: Are we worshipping money, lifestyle, financial security – or the living God? The words of Matthew 6 are powerful indeed, Why worry? Why worry about food and drink and about what to eat tomorrow? The pagans are the ones who put these things on top of their priorities. No, you are different. SEEK YOU FIRST THE KINDGOM OF GOD AND ITS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE YOURS AS WELL! God knows all the things you need, so why fret about it?

Priorities, my friends! Maybe we are found out! Maybe we have subconsciously worshipped money and comfort more than anything else.

Please fight the Pandemic of Fear and Unbelief! I am serious: People literally kill themselves through fear, through worry, through paranoia, through anxiety. People ruin their lives that way. People lose joy and peace. People face additional depression. People die daily from this self- inflicted pandemic – definitely more than from the Coronavirus pandemic.

Look at the birds of the air, the flowers of the field, God sustains them all. Are you not so much worth more than they? Oh, men and women, you little ones of faith!

This is your chance to discover today freedom from fear, freedom from the fear of losing, freedom from slavery to the power of money and lifestyle. This is your chance to be reborn by the Spirit of God for a new life of faith and freedom. The story of the Christian Faith on earth is the STORY OF FAITH, a story conquering all. See the marvellous story of faith in Hebrews 11.

One final note: God does not expect you to become a super-Christian. He understands your downfalls, setbacks and continued weaknesses. He keeps forgiving you, for Jesus’ sake. Incredible! Our God is so good. His love is endless.

But the road of truly living by faith must start, today at the very latest! This is your chance, your day! GAIN BY LOSING! Christ came to set us free from all the pandemics of this world and gave us New Life - new life forever. Let your light shine! Let your joy shine! You are the Greatest King’s own! You are loved beyond all comparison! You are safe! We now have found true security, a home forever. Home, sweet home. There is no place like home. The Christian Faith, one bishop said, is one long shout of joy! So love, rejoice, sing, dance: Your Saviour lives, you shall not die! AMEN.

Pastor August Fricke

[Sermon preached at Luther Centre in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday, 16 March 2020. Reprinted in adapted form]

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