Avoiding Spiritual Covid

Again, so nice to see all of you. This is the Sabbath day which God created, because He knew this day, the seventh day, was one that we need to have spiritual nutrition. Six days we eat, we do everything else, but this is the seventh day which is set apart by God all the way from the beginning of creation. Adam and Eve actually rested on that first seventh day. And from there that cycle has continued on, and it will continue on until God's kingdom arrives and Christ is going to establish.

And there are the last verses of Isaiah. If you read the last two verses, it talks about Christ coming back and it says there, and from Sabbath to Sabbath they will come to worship Him. It doesn't talk about Sunday, it doesn't talk about a change of date at all. And we know God looks into the future and He was promising that that was going to happen.

As it was brought out on the beginning of this first message, this could be called the year of the virus. We have never seen a pandemic like this for a hundred years, with the time of the Spanish flu right there at the end of World War I.

So let's study this tiny piece of handiwork. And as you will see, there is a very important spiritual analogy to learn from this virus. This is the smallest parasite found in nature. It is so tiny that you can line up a thousand of these average size viruses, a thousand of them, and they would cover the length of one human hair. There is a huge variety of them, and it is estimated that they outnumber living things 10 to 1. Now, if you took all of the living things from all the billions and billions of bacteria, plankton in the oceans, algae, all of these one-celled and multi-celled creatures, and you put them all together, you'd have 10 times more viruses on the Earth.

They are composed mainly of two ingredients. One is a protein shell, and inside is either DNA or RNA, which is the ribonucleic acid, which is the genetic program. So it's just like this little anti-submarine mine. That's what COVID-19 looks like with little spokes on it. And as soon as it touches a cell, it is able to inject its software program that nucleic acid, and then the cell becomes captured and starts reproducing the proteins and the DNA program or RNA program so that the virus multiplies.

So instead of the cell making more cells, it starts making more viruses. That's the way it multiplies. The virus by itself is just like this floating software program. It doesn't have any living things in it. You can compare it to a computer virus.

A computer virus can't do anything unless it infects a computer. And then the computer uses and the virus comes in, injects it, and starts controlling many aspects of the computer. Now, a virus is not some random evolutionary creation that just happens. No, it's a very precise and elegant software program. It has hundreds of genetic letters, goes all the way to thousands, and all of them are sequenced to give instruction to the cell so that the cell will, in a slavish manner, reproduce the virus.

So there's nothing about a virus evolving. And by the way, how can a software program evolve? The greatest problem with the theory of evolution, and it certainly has a lot, but it is the origin of the information inside the DNA molecule. In other words, the instructions that are in viruses as well as human cells. Science cannot explain how you can have a sequence of genetic letters that are all instructions, and they are precise. And somebody had to put those things together.

You can't just accidentally come up with instruction packages in this way. Most viruses do not harm nature, living things, and are actually beneficial. They do have a function in this fallen world. Anne Roberts, a virologist and a scholar at Reasons to Believe which is over in this area of Pasadena where they have their institute, mentions the following.

If it were not for viruses, bacteria and other single-cell organisms would rule the earth.

Basically, you wouldn't have any room left for other things because bacteria multiply so quickly that if they're left to their own, this whole earth would be covered with bacteria and nothing else.

But thanks to the viruses, they keep the bacterial reproduction down to the point where other things can survive. It says, by destroying much of the bacteria and other single-cell organisms, they provide nutrients, making higher life and survival of multicellular organisms possible because of this.

The viruses keep in check all of the multiplication of bacteria.

These viruses can kill 40 to 50 percent of the bacteria in the earth's oceans on a daily basis.

40 to 50 percent of all the bacteria produced and it produces a lot more in the oceans than it does on land, and it keeps it down.

And it also, all the dead bacteria, provide the food for all the other living organisms.

This releases an abundance of organic molecules, which is food, for the survival of other organisms. Viruses also help keep our planets' ecological niches and our bodies' microbiomis in balance. In other words, we have all of these, what they call gut viruses in our guts, in our stomachs. We have a lot of the bacteria that are healthy for us, and it mentions here that it keeps it in balance. So we have viruses that are controlling the bacterial count. We are not overrun by bacteria. Something has to keep it in check.

Viruses do so. If not for a balance between bacterial reproduction and a virus-mediated death, the Earth would be a giant ball of bacteria with no room or food source for other organisms to survive and thrive. So let's be thankful that we do have viruses. But there are also a segment of viruses that are deadly to mankind. The worst that we've had as far as a virus outbreak was in the 20th century with the smallpox virus. Scientists estimate that the smallpox virus killed about 300 million people in the 20th century. And now, thanks to vaccines, the smallpox virus has been removed, eradicated. COVID-19 is the latest predator virus.

These toxic viruses that caused disease were not part of the Garden of Eden creatures. There were no sicknesses in the Garden of Eden, nor dangerous plants or animals.

And thankfully, when Christ establishes his kingdom, these deadly viruses will not exist anymore. The curse will be removed from the Earth, from the plants, from the animals, including the viruses. We don't know again if they're just going to be healthy viruses, because there are some that are needed. But whatever it is, nothing is going to harm any people or animals. So the present viruses that are deadly are just for the present and fallen evil world. Those are not going to be around in the future. But in the meantime, mankind has to deal with these virus epidemics. And God did provide an excellent defense mechanism against these viruses. It's called the immune system. And once the immune system identifies the toxic virus strain, it starts creating antibodies to destroy the viruses.

These antibodies consist of white blood cells and also enzymes that will destroy viruses. These enzymes are found in the mother's milk. That's why a baby needs a lot of the mother's milk, because it brings the mother's antibodies already into the system. So they won't be prone to a lot of viral infections. Also, it is found in tears. Our tears. They also have antibiotics. So viruses, even though they're out there in the atmosphere, the tears have antibiotics, these enzymes.

And also, the mucus membrane that we have. When you have a cold and you have a lot of mucus build up, well, that mucus is part of what has been killing these viruses. And so all of that mucus carries dead viruses to remove them from our system. The oil on our skins also have antibodies.

The problem is that sometimes the virus spreads too quickly and overwhelms our immune systems. Or the immune system overreacts, as it happens in many of these COVID cases, that it just cranks up so much defensive systems that it weakens the body and makes it prone to other respiratory problems. And that is why a vaccine can be of help since it introduces a dead strain of the virus that the body can identify and produce antibodies that can kill the virus before it can multiply. A vaccine is a dead virus that helps the body identify. It's the body that produces the antibodies, but you need to get it going because sometimes the body doesn't have the identification. It comes too late.

So now let's look at the parallels between these viruses attacking the body and the spiritual viruses that can attack the body of Christ. We will also see what the spiritual body's defenses look like and how we can prepare them. Let's go to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12 verses 4 through 8. I'm going to read them from God's Word version. It's a little clearer.

Makes a little more sense. It says, our bodies have many parts, but these parts don't all do the same thing. In the same way, even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other. God in His kindness gave each of us different gifts. If your gift is speaking God's Word, make sure what you say agrees with the Christian faith.

The doctrines found in the Bible, in other words. If your gift is serving, then devote yourself to serving. That's your calling. If it is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. Many times the teachers in the church were people that lived locally in the congregation, whereas the men that had to travel to different places, we would have the equivalent of maybe Victor Cubic and others in the home office. They can visit places, but as far as teachers, those are the ones that are in the congregation, and some of them are the ones that give messages here. That's a way of teaching. So it says, if that is what your gift is, devote yourself to teaching. Dedicate yourself to it.

If it is encouraging others, devote yourself to giving encouragement. If that's your gift, if your heart really goes out to people and you want to encourage them, in other words, refine and perfect the gifts that you have. If it is sharing, supposing God gives you a lot, and you are blessed that you can share those blessings with others. That's one of the wonderful things when you have a little more than what you need. You can always help others out. It's called a gift, the gift of generosity. If it is leadership, lead enthusiastically.

That's the way it's translated here, with your whole heart, with that positive, godly, faith-filled attitude as what was mentioned in the first message. Lead enthusiastically, not lackadaisically, not lazily. Give it your energy. Give it your best.

If it is helping people in need, if that's your gift, help them cheerfully with a glad attitude, which sometimes is difficult. But we have to understand, people that are in need, they usually are not in the best attitudes. They're depressed, they're going through difficult times, so make sure you help them, but with an encouraging word, not pushing them down, not belittling them, or scolding them.

So that's one of the scriptures that talks about our bodies as the body of Christ that has many parts. I'm not going to go into 1 Corinthians 12, but that's the second place you would find about the body of Christ being composed of many members. But I do want to go to a third scripture, Ephesians chapter 4 verses 10 through 16. It also talks about the body of Christ working together. Again, from the God's word version, it says, the one who had gone down, talking about Jesus Christ, also went up above all the heavens so that he fills everything. So that he fills everything. It's the role of Jesus Christ under God the Father.

He also, talking about Christ, gave apostles, prophets. The term here should be evangelists, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts to his church. So he knows how to place people. We shouldn't strive for that. God knows who he's calling. And one of the ways to disqualify yourselves is to seek it on your own. No, let God place his stamp of approval. It says, their purpose is to prepare God's people to serve and to build up the body of Christ.

This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God's Son, until we become spiritually mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard, and I mention, of comparison for all of us.

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed and carried about by all kinds of teachings that change like the wind.

We will no longer be influenced by people who use cunning and clever strategies to lead us astray. In other words, they use spiritual viruses to infect us with heresies, which are doctrinal errors, doctrines that are not supported in Scripture.

Instead, as we lovingly speak the truth, in other words, God's truths in the Bible, we will grow up completely in our relationship to Christ, who is the head. He makes the whole body fit together and unites it through the support of every joint. In other words, everyone is actively participating and supporting the body. As each and every part does its job, all working, I mention here, harmoniously together, He makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

And so, if the Spirit of God is equivalent to the blood of this spiritual body of Christ, then love is the equivalent to the attitude of that spiritual body. So, the body of Christ is subject to viral infections from within and without.

Let's look at some of these spiritual viruses, and then we will look at the remedies, how to counteract how we can build antibodies for that.

The most dangerous virus that you can contract is heresy or doctrinal errors.

Notice in 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 18 through 20. 1 Timothy 1, 18 through 20, it says, This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Himineas and Alexander, whom I deliver to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

So, here there were some in the congregation that were teaching false doctrines, and Paul had to put them out of the church. In other words, now they're back in Satan's world. They're not having access to regularly meeting until they repent, until they change their attitude, and quit teaching doctrinal errors. The believer's commentary says about Himineas and Alexander, this describes the lives of these men as well as the words of their lips. By making shipwreck of the faith, they have undoubtedly caused others to speak evil of the way of truth, and thus their lives were living blasphemies. With their attitudes and teachings, they were actually giving God a bad name. They were undermining the credibility of the church. Notice in Jude verses 3 and 4, it only has one chapter. It goes on to talk about heresy and the damage that can produce. Jude verses 3 and 4 says, Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, exhorting you, to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. In other words, we're not evolving faith. That was faith that was given at that time. We're applying it in the 21st century, but it is the same biblical truths. Now, of course, applying it to this modern world, but God's truths do not change. He goes on to say, For certain men have crept in unnoticed. This was talking about men creeping in the church, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation. Christ said there would be weeds and tares among the wheat, ungodly men who turned the grace of our God into lewdness, which means license to sin, to break God's commandments, and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. And so again, they don't even know the relationship of God the Father and Jesus Christ, how they both are reigning up there in heaven. God the Father has placed Jesus Christ under him. But there's no such thing as a Holy Spirit sitting on God's left hand.

It doesn't talk about the Holy Spirit as a person. And so, heresy is one of the worst viruses that could come into congregation.

And we witnessed that back in 1995. The church basically had about 150,000 members at that time. And then, from the top, some leaders crept in. They changed doctrines. They undermined what had been taught. And then they introduced and injected that doctrinal error into the church. And it was devastating. It was a virus that affected the majority that was part of the body of Christ at that time. So, some crept on notice. They injected a powerful virus into the body of Christ. And many brethren were caught unawares. They did not have strong spiritual defenses. They did not have antibodies built up to counter these false teachings.

Some were just lazy and went along with what the top leadership had said.

They forgot to analyze what was being said with what you know about the scriptures.

In Isaiah 8, verse 20, it says, To the law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. The law, of course, talking about the first five books of the Bible, the testimonies, talking about the rest of the Old Testament, what was written up to that time. In the New Living Translation, it says, look to God's instructions and teachings.

People who contradict His Word are completely in the dark. Just I remember when one of those leaders said, well, oh, the Sabbath now is something that is past. And if you want to, you can go ahead and play golf on the Sabbath. You can just go out there and do whatever sports. And believe me, I have played golf. Usually you play 18 holes, and it's about four hours. And you're not thinking about God. It's very tiring. You're focusing on something that has nothing to do with God's Word. And yet a leader said that. And guess what? Some people just gave up the sanctity of the Sabbath. They forgot what it tells us in Isaiah chapter 58, Isaiah 58.

See, this is what the testimony of God's Word says. If somebody goes against this teaching, you shouldn't pay attention. I don't care if it's a minister, whoever it is. In Isaiah 58, in verse 13, talks about God's Sabbath day. It says, if you turn away your foot from the Sabbath day, from doing your pleasure on my holy day. So he's saying, don't go out there playing golf and doing other things. He says, take your foot away. This is a holy time. This is special. The time to get together, to have a holy convocation, to be with a family, to enjoy the church family, as well. Goes on to say, and call the Sabbath a delight, not a burden. This is not something that people are chafing under. The holy day of the Lord, honorable, something you honor, you respect, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words. In other words, it's not the time to say, oh, let's get together, let's have a business meeting. Yeah, let's talk about all things, all kinds of things that are just worldly and secular.

It's a special time for God. I compare it to laying out a white carpet on that day, and God says, take your shoes off there, because that's something special. Walk. Don't soil that white carpet. Try to use it profitably. Edify. Get closer to God. Get closer to Christ. Get closer to the Scriptures. That's a time that God says, honor Him. It says, verse 14, as a result, God gives a tremendous promise. Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord. You will be happy with that relationship, and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. That's the inheritance of the coming kingdom of God. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Be there with them.

The mouth of the Lord has spoken. God has promised it. He cannot break His word.

And so when this spiritual virus invaded, it caught many people unaware. Just like this COVID, how many people got caught unaware before they knew it? They were in the hospital. They were on a respirator. Didn't even know what hit them. That's the way spiritual heresy can also affect the church. That's why if you want to remedy that, it's important to go through those 20 fundamental beliefs of the church. They're the main truths that we have found in the Bible. Prove them for yourselves. And that way, when some spiritual error comes along, you're going to be able to compare and say, no, that's not right. The Sabbath is something you don't tamper with. It's the fourth commandment. I remember as a minister in church, I was a minister in Chile when I heard that message from one of my superiors and basically saying that, yeah, you can play golf on the Sabbath. You can go out, have a good time, whatever, recreation-wise.

And a great fear came over me. And I remember saying, I'm not going to touch the Sabbath day with a 10-foot pole. That's something holy. At that time, they just came out with a movie, Jurassic Park. I remember with the dinosaurs and everything. I took my older daughters to it. And you remember that fence that protected the people from the dinosaurs? It said, you know, what, 10,000 volts that fence. And I was looking and saying, that's like the Sabbath day. And he wants me to go out there and touch it and just disrespect it. No way. I'm not going to touch that, because you're going to get spiritually electrocuted. Once you trample on the Sabbath day, it won't be long before you're trampling on the Holy Days and on God's different teachings. Once you break that, you lose that spell that God gives us about learning His truths and opening up our minds to the truth. That can be taken away from any of us.

That's why we should remember 2 Timothy 2, verse 15. 2 Timothy 2, verse 15. It says, Be diligent to present yourself, approve to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Takes time, takes work. See, there was a, the King James version said, study to present yourself. But actually, it's more accurate when it says, be diligent to approve yourselves before God, a worker. See, a person can just study. That's not enough.

What is lacking? The application. See? It says, be diligent. Apply what you learn, because you can be one of these intellectual acknowledgers of the truth, but you never, you know, come to the Sabbath. You never meet. Oh, you know you should. You know that's right, but you don't do it. You're not going to have spiritual growth. So it's a worker who gains experience by applying the truth. Have you ever had somebody that you've tried to teach, but they never have done anything practical with what they have taught? That's the same way. You can be a professional Bible reader.

But if you're not applying God's laws and His Word, it's not going to do you any good.

Now let's go to the second deadly spiritual virus. Besides heresy, I would put in second place the virus of self-seeking ambition and power. The virus of self-seeking ambition and power. This is what undermined Lucifer, where he ended up becoming Satan. He was self-seeking. He wanted to be on top of everybody, and he lost all of that wonderful position. It's very sad, but this can happen in the church, locally, nationally, or internationally. Nobody is exempt from this.

Notice what James tells us in James chapter 3 verse 1, and then we're going to read 13 through 16.

It says, My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

Verse 13, Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom, but if you have bitter envy and self-seeking, in your hearts, oh yeah, it's not going to show up externally, but that's what's internally.

Do not boast and lie against the truth. What is the reality? What are the motives?

This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. Satan inspires that.

For were envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. Sometimes the church also is affected by this deadly virus. The word self-seeking in the Greek is erytheia. E-R-I-T-H-E-I-A. Bartley, the commentator, says about this word, it came to mean the kind of work done solely for what could be gotten out of it.

In other words, just my pay, not interested in what I can do else, just give me the money for what I do. Then it entered politics and came to mean that selfish ambition, which was out for self and for nothing else and was ready to use any means to gain its ends.

In other words, this intellectual and power-hungry vanity that rises among the ranks.

The body of Christ has been infected by this.

In my lifetime, I've seen it at least twice as far as I can identify.

One was in 1998 when one of the church leaders that we had did not want to submit to the Council of Elders as our Constitution, as our guidelines mentioned, he wanted the Council to be under him and he, above all. And when he didn't get his way, he took people with him and ministers with him to form his own organization. And guess what? He's still in charge of that organization to this day. He has not allowed anybody else to come in and it has diminished and it's just a handful of people, but he's still in charge. He's not going to let anybody be over him. Self-seeking ambition!

It really hurts the church because it's split. It caused the body of Christ to be weakened. It's very sad. I'm sorry I raised my voice about it. It really hurts to see how many people are duped and carried off in this way. And then in 2010, selfish ambitions also had a lot to do with that group that separated. And we saw it in living color. It's very sad, but again, basically those are still in charge. They set up a system where they can hardly be removed. That's what they wanted. They wanted that position. They couldn't get it anymore in this church, so they decided to take their marbles and go somewhere else. Notice what it says here. This wisdom does not descend from above. Yeah, it's a type of wisdom because it gets certain results, but it's earthly. In other words, worldly, sensual, and demonic. Very. That's what James said he should know he lived around Jesus Christ. He was Jesus Christ's half-brother, and he saw what was happening in the church in his days. Paul does mention in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 18 that some of these divisions and splits are something God allows. It says, for first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And in part, I believe it, for there must also be factions among you that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Are you going to hold on to the truth despite all others around you?

Are you going to maintain the faith, or you're going to say, no, I just got to go along with others. See, approved means when you have been given the seal of approval. And so Paul also witnessed splits in his days, and he said this is a way that God tests people.

What are the antibodies that can be built up? What are the antidotes to that spirit of selfish ambition? James 3 17 goes on to say, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. It's a whole different attitude. It's a willingness to let's talk. Let's deal with these situations. Don't just take off and build up a following after you. Let's all work together to stay united.

But sometimes it falls on deaf ears.

There are other spiritual viruses I can't discuss because of lack of time, but one is that seed sown among the weeds. In other words, letting wordliness get into our lives.

Let's go Matthew 13 verse 22 real quickly. Matthew 13 verse 22. These are some that God calls, but they get so involved in the world's cares that they eventually drown out and are suffocated by the weeds. Matthew 13 and verse 22. It says, Now he who receives seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. It doesn't matter. You can have riches as long as you have God first and his way of life. But many times you put riches above everything else, and that's where the problem is.

God does not want us to put riches or anything else above him.

Another spiritual virus is letting bitterness come and nest in your heart. In other words, becoming offended, allowing that to happen over something that can ruin your attitude and will contaminate others. Hebrews 12 verse 15. It says, Looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up, cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. Talking about the brethren being contaminated in that way. So, there are always going to be spiritual viruses out there, but we also can have spiritual antibodies to combat them. Just like the physical body, if you have a healthy immune system, it can get rid of most of the problems. Having a healthy immune system means staying close to God, the source of spiritual power. We have the antibodies of God's Holy Spirit, prayer, meditation, study, and occasional fasting as tools. And finally, walking in humility and applying godly servant leadership in all we do.

So, let's go to the final scripture, 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 2 through 12.

2 Peter chapter 1 verses 2 through 12.

It says, Your grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which we have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises by entering God's kingdom, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. Our human nature will be changed to divine nature. We won't have human nature to bother us anymore. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, but also for this very reason giving all diligence add to your faith virtue. So you see faith by itself is not enough. It's a good foundation, as it was mentioned, but you have to add virtue, which is right living, and to virtue knowledge growing in the grace and knowledge of God, and to knowledge self-control, capacity to control your own emotions and impulses, to self-control perseverance, which is a never-give-up attitude. To perseverance, godliness, a way of walking and acting and speaking. To godliness, brotherly kindness, showing that love toward brethren. And to brotherly kindness, love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. See, it's not enough just to be forgiven. What are we doing today? What are we going to do tomorrow? Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. You won't have to worry about the spiritual viruses out there. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. An entrance you will be able to enter into that kingdom. And then he goes on, verse 12, for this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, you're walking in the right way, but now let's make it firm. Let's make it strong. Let's continue forward in faith. This, brethren, is the way to avoid contracting spiritual COVID.