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My name is Basie Martins. I trust that you are all well and I want to thank you again for listening to this program. For those of you who do not know, we are starting a new series today in which we will discuss general topics relevant to the church and all Christians and all people. With this series, we want to determine how God feels about everyday things and events in our lives. We want to familiarize ourselves with the will and the ways of God.
We do not want to understand how the world sees things. We want to understand how God sees things. The will and the ways of God are life and truth and it is always good to know the will and the ways of God. The truth sets us free. It helps us to fall in line with what God is doing in the earth and our lives. And that is the aim of this series. We want to set ourselves free and we want to set others free by helping them understand the will and the ways of God. We want to allow God to equip us and we want to help to equip other people with whatever they need to be instruments of excellence in the hands of God.
We do not want to waste time discussing irrelevant topics. We want to discuss topics that have the potential to change lives. We want to understand the will and the ways of God and we want to live according to the will of God.
With all the panic and fears caused by the coronavirus and COVID-19 all over the globe right now, I think it would be very appropriate if we start the series by investigating what the Bible says about this topic. Does the Bible say anything about the coronavirus? Yes, it does. The coronavirus is what the bible calls a plague or pestilence. Are there any important actions that we need to take during a plague or pestilence? There are. God wants us to do certain specific things during a time such as this. It is very important. If we take the wrong decisions and actions it can be life-threatening.
A plaque or pestilence is a very dangerous phenomenon. It has devastating effects on the world. It causes devastation in terms of the loss of human lives. It causes economic collapse or at least serious economic damages and turmoil. Countries and nations, the economy, businesses and institutions, and virtually everybody suffer losses when it comes to plagues or pestilences. One of the most important and “hard to deal with aspects” during such an outbreak is fear or panic because fear or panic results in irrational and wrong decisions being made.
Even mature Christians, who have built up their most holy faith, may suffer a temporary set back because of this. They might waver in their faith, just for a moment, or they might be caught by surprise when they see the global panic and fear escalating and exploding right before their eyes. Fortunately, most of them overcome the initial panic and they recover.
They quickly realize that a plague is just another challenge in the lives of people. They realize that it cannot hurt them at all if they keep trusting in God and his word. It is however not the case with many Christians. Many of them act and feel exactly the way the world does in this regard. They are just as panic-stricken and they feel almost just as hopeless. It should not be that way. We are Christians. We belong to God. We should not fear and we should act like Christians are supposed to.
This is what Psalm 91:5-12 say about this:
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Psalm 91 makes it clear that God does not want us to fear pestilences and plagues. Although it kills people right around us, it will not kill us, because we love God and because we have made him our refuge and our fortress.
Interestingly, Psalm 91 says that the plague and pestilence is a reward to the wicked. This implies that during a plague or pestilence, people get what they deserve. If we did bad things our reward will be bad. In such a case, we should repent and we should change our lives and our attitudes and our actions. This is what pestilences and plagues were initially designed to accomplish.
It is interesting to hear what people say about natural disasters like plagues and hurricanes. When the world experiences such a disaster, some people say that the earth cannot deal with the number of people that inhabits it anymore and now “she”, “mother nature” is resetting by bringing the number of its inhabitants down again. Some say that it is just an unforeseen occurrence caused by something that went wrong somewhere. Some say it is just the natural result of people eating things that are not supposed to be eaten. Some say that it is the natural result of sin. Some say that plagues and natural disasters and pestilences are caused by God to punish nations for several reasons. For us as Children of God living in the kingdom of God, it does not matter what causes plagues and pestilences. We are protected by God and we do not fear natural disasters.
We know that the devil and demons cannot create pestilences and plagues. There is not a single Scripture in the whole Bible that says that the devil created a plague or pestilence. All pestilences and plagues in the Bible were created by God. According to the Bible, He threatened people with pestilences and plagues and according to the Bible, He did cause pestilences and plagues when people ignored his warnings. There are approximately 180 Scripture references in the Bible that explicitly say that God causes plaques and pestilences. Let’s look at a few of these Scriptures.
Luke 21:11
And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven
Exodus 9:15
For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
Jeremiah 19:8
And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.
As I said, many Scripture references prove that plagues and pestilences come from God. It did not change since Biblical times. Pestilences and plagues do come from God. God does stretch out his arm and causes this to happen on earth. He is the only legitimate ruler of this earth and the universe and He can and does cause plagues and pestilences. The devil cannot do this at all. So yes, I believe that plagues and pestilences are either the natural result of sin or the judgment of God.
Yes, I admit that biological warfare is a reality but usually that can be traced and proven. With the outbreak of COVID-19, it is just not the case because there are overwhelming facts that suggest that it is not a human-engineered virus. Scientists and experts do not agree with the allegations that were made in this regard. This is what Dr. David Jacobs says about the coronavirus and COVID-19:
The coronavirus was NOT made in a lab. It is NOT a biological weapon.
Coronaviruses are common and account for up to 20 percent of colds every year.
The particularly nasty ones like SARS and MERS originated in bats and cross infected humans.
– Dr. David Jacobs
Professor Richard Ebright, an expert in chemical biology at Rutgers University, added:
Based on the virus genome and properties there is no indication whatsoever that it was an engineered virus.
– Professor Richard Ebright
This is what Dave Makichuk says about the coronavirus:
As a bio-weapon, Covid-19 doesn’t quite cut it – it’s just not that effective.
For starters, much fewer than half of those affected die (less than 4% of deaths were recorded on 15 March 2020 when this program was recorded for radio). People who are infected must stay in bed and take similar precautions used for treating the common cold.
Covid-19 is too strong initially, and not deadly enough in the long run to be an effective bio-weapon. A bio-weapon should start off slow, spread quickly and kill off its multitude of victims weeks later – impossible to stop. As lethal as Covid-19 is, it doesn’t work as something an evil scientist would dream up.
– Dave Makichuk
It should be noted, that China is no stranger to epidemics. Its history is riddled with terrible contagions, all natural occurrences.
Two of the most devastating flu pandemics of the 20th century – the Asian flu of 1957 and the Hong Kong flu of 1968 – both originated in China and left a trail of about three million deaths worldwide, according to the CDC.
– WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Many allegations were made about the coronavirus but nothing could be proven and most importantly, the facts do not add up to support such speculations. It is just not appropriate to believe speculations and allegations without any prove or evidence or at least some supportive facts. I never believe allegations and speculations unless there is evidence. So based on these observations, I am convinced that COVID-19 is not a biological weapon.
If it was not a biological weapon, then it probably is an act of God. And if it was from God, what does the Bible say about plagues and pestilences. What is the purpose of pestilences and plagues? It has always been and always will be a method that God uses to punish people and nations or at least get their attention. Paul did something similar to Simon who attempted to hinder the Gospel of Christ by making him blind. God did it hundreds of times in Biblical times to cause nations to repent. Just type the word pestilences or plagues into a Bible concordance and you will be amazed to see how many times God did cause plagues and pestilences in Biblical times. See if you can find any other reason for this other than judgment. There is none.
The reason why plagues and pestilences have such a huge effect on the world is the fact that everybody, from the richest to the poorest, the old and the young and all races and genders are all equally exposed to a life-threatening disease. Most of the time, there is usually no cure or vaccine for plagues and pestilences. Everybody is equally exposed and everybody is equally challenged by the implications and complications when infected.
Plagues and pestilences are equalizers. It does not discriminate against anyone. The fact that nobody can provide any protection or any security whatsoever is especially challenging for most people. It reminds them that the support systems of the world are not that reliable at all. When they see or hear how people die around them, how the medical profession struggles to cope with the situation, how the economy and everything that is man-made collapse all around them, they lose their sense of security, especially when stability and security and order rapidly give way to chaos and instability and disorder and confusion. This is when people look for something outside the norm or other than the usual support systems that they can cling onto to sustain and maintain them during this time of turmoil.
That is why we suddenly hear people that never talked about God now talking about God and making statements that they trust in God and so on. They suddenly decided to do that but very often, it is just an act of desperation and not a matter of deep and sincere conviction. However, for many people right across the globe, plagues or pestilences are just what they need to make that all-important decision to serve God in truth and spirit. Many people do repent and they never turn back to their old ways after such an experience. This is the purpose of a divine or God created plague or pestilence.
Lets read a few Scriptures that support the statements that I made about about this:
Deuteronomy 29:21-29
21 And the Lord shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law:
22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it;
23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
27 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
28 And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.
29 The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
It usually happens when nations as a whole turn their backs on God. It happens when whole continents, like Europe and Asia, turn their backs on God. It is a method that God uses to shock the nations. It is designed to stop a bad trend or to change a bad situation. It is designed to cause people to take a good look around them and at their lives and their support systems and to come to their senses. I am not sure if God purposely wants to cause panic and fear so that nations and people repent or not. The bottom line is that it does cause fear and panic and havoc in the lives of people and it does impact people severely. These people are now open to new alternatives. They are reaching out for help. This opens so many doors right now.
It is never designed to cause havoc in the lives of obedient Christians. I say obedient Christians because disobedient Christians will experience plagues and pestilences as the world does. The Old Testament is an example of this. The nation of Israel suffered because of this specifically. Some plagues and pestilences were aimed at punishing the nation of Israel directly as we have seen in Deuteronomy 29.
Deuteronomy 28:59-62 also confirms this.
59 Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God.
So even Christians can suffer and die during a plague. It is not supposed to be like that. We should always live obedient in the eyes of the Lord. We should always please God. If we do, we do not have to fear plagues and pestilences one bit. Psalm 91 was written for obedient people. For those who love God and who have made him their refuge and strength. Although we have a lot of empathy with the nations and grace for the people who are involved in this, what happens in times like these, is us witnessing the nations receiving the rewards of their actions and their lifestyles. They pay the price for their actions and their decisions and their disobedience.
People do bring plagues and pestilences over themselves. Just think of HIV and AIDS. This is also a plague or pestilence and it is directly linked to sinful sexual life-styles. Yes, people have been infected in ways other than through sex but it was initially the result of sinful sexual life-styles. It is the direct result of sin. This plague would not have existed if it was not for sinful sexual activities. The nations and the sinners always pay the price for their stubbornness and sinful life-styles but we should not condemn them. We are saved by grace and they also need grace.
We should pray for them. We should counsel them. We should preach the gospel of Christ to them and we should lead as many people to Christ as we can. We should not allow this opportunity to pass without us making the most of it. That is what great men of faith did in the past. The plagues and pestilences could not kill them. Not only did they show that the plagues or pestilences should not be feared, but they also helped people amid such plagues and pestilences and they expanded the kingdom of God in the process. We should work with God in this regard. We should not be getting ready to survive as the world does. We should be getting ready to work.
In case you wondered about this. In case you wondered why this happened. This is it right here. God probably decided to interfere in the everyday life of all people, right across the globe, in a very dramatic way, to achieve something so necessary and so important right now at this point in history. We are on the brink of a very important event in the timeline of the world. No, it is not the end of time. It is not the end of the world. It has nothing to do with the end times.
It is, however, a very important event that is aimed at putting the world onto a different path. It is aimed at implementing many restorative measures into the body of Christ and the church and to expand the kingdom of God on earth. This strategy started a few years ago with certain important political changes. I am referring to Brexit, the appointment of Donald Trump and other important world leaders, the fall and deteriorating circumstances of globalism, the fall or at least the deterioration of ISIS, China, Iran, and North-Korea and other political occurrences and events. God is changing the world. He is changing conditions and circumstances in the church and the world. He is on a mission and we need to be part of this strategy. We need to work with God in this regard.
The coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic is part of this strategy and there will be many changes and events to come in the future. Although we do not know all God’s strategies, we should be able to recognize when God is at work and we should be able to do what God wants us to do. Now is the time that we need to be holy and dedicated and willing instruments in the hands of God.
A wonderful thing about the kingdom of God or the church or Christians is that we always live in the kingdom of God. We do not live in a corrupt world. No, we live in the kingdom of God. It appears that we are part of this world but we are indeed not part of this world. We live under different laws and different circumstances than the world. The world lives in a corrupt world. They are living in bondage. They are captives in the kingdom of darkness. They need to repent and they need to be delivered from the power of darkness, and they need to be translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. I have just quoted Colossians 1:13. We are living in the kingdom of the Son of God.
The kingdom of God is never subject to events and circumstances and the ways of the world. Circumstances and events in the world have a direct impact on the people and the nations of the world. Unsaved people are exposed to a lot of things in this world. Christians are not supposed to be influenced by circumstances in the world but unfortunately, Christians do choose to live subject to the ways of the world and they do make use of the support systems of the world. When you see a Christian reacting to events like the coronavirus, the way that the world does, then you know that they have chosen to live according to the ways of the world and that they make use of the support systems of the world. They are usually just as shocked and panic-stricken as the world when things go wrong in the world because they depend a lot on the support systems of the world. It is not supposed to be like that.
The nation of Christ, the children of God, those who trust God and who live in faith, are not subject to or dependent on the world and its support systems. We live under different rules, different laws and different circumstances than the world. We never have to depend on the economy of the world or the principles and natural laws of the world. We are living in faith or by faith or through faith. We depend on God and what He has already done for us and what He already made available to us.
Of course, criminal laws do impact us as well because the Bible says that we need to adhere to and be obedient to the criminal laws of the land or the country that we live in. However, Christians have the luxury to live in a perfect world or kingdom with divine laws and divine principles. The wonderful thing about this is that through faith, these principles and laws always override the laws and the principles of the world if we live in faith of course. It is not automatic. It requires faith. It is for this reason that God can bless his children financially although the world suffers financially. Whilst the world experiences turmoil, devastation, and losses God protects all his children against plagues and pestilences just like He did with the nation of Israel in Egypt. There is certainly an impenetrable hedge around the children of God as there was around the nation of Israel in Egypt. Even in those times, the nation of Egypt suffered the one plague or pestilence after another whilst not a single Israelite was affected.
God still does this today. Whenever God is visiting the earth in his wrath and punishing the nations, his angels are instructed to protect the children of God. Their task is to make sure that not a single Christian, who is obedient to God, is harmed. Psalm 91 is clear on this: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Whilst many people fall around you, you shall stand. It shall not come near you. Whilst others suffer financially, you will lack nothing. Whilst others are running around in circles, panic-stricken and without any hope, you shall have no fear. You shall not be afraid of evil tidings: your heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. Your heart is established, you will not be afraid until you see your desire upon your enemies.
The angels of God are “very busy” in times like these. They protect every child of God. There is no way that a child of God will be infected by the virus and die because of that by mistake. There is no way that an angel will slip up. An obedient child of God can’t die because of this virus. If a Christian gets infected and die then it is because of him or her being disobedient to God. Either they live in sin or they do not live through faith by every word that came out of the mouth of God. They probably did not apply the word of God in their lives.
We should have a different view of plagues and pestilences than the world. We should not experience plagues and pestilences as the world does. It is not something that we should fear. We never have to fear anything in life, ever.
We just need to live in faith and obedience. And if we pursue holiness, and if we renew our minds, if we apply the word of God in our lives, we do not have to fear anything or any challenge in life. We are completely immune to whatever challenge or threat anything poses in life. That is why Psalm 91 was written, to remind us all of these wonderful promises of God. That is why Psalm 112 was written. That is why Psalm 23 was written. That is why the Bible tells us over and over and over again and again not to fear ever again in our lives. Even when we think that we cannot do anything, God does. That is why he was so upset with his disciples when they were caught in the middle of the sea by a storm.
Mark 4:36-40
36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still.” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 And he said unto them, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”
Now, these disciples thought they had every right to be scared. The waves and the wind were extremely challenging. The ship was eventually full of water. From a natural point of view, this situation was life-threatening. Notwithstanding this, Jesus was upset with them for being so fearful and because of them having no faith.
What were they supposed to do? Were they supposed to ignore the waves and the wind and the storm knowing that God has their back? Were they supposed to rebuke the wind and speak to the sea as Jesus did? Whatever they had faith for, I assume, but a child of God needs to rise above all challenges and situations in their lives, no matter how serious it might seem. We always need to have faith and we always need to act on our faith. Any new situation or any situation that we are not familiar with is no different than any other challenge that we conquered before. To God, and therefore to us, nothing is impossible. We have power and authority over all diseases and all demonic spirits and satan himself. The coronavirus does not have power over us. We have power over all diseases.
The problem is, many Christians never practiced their faith before. They allowed very important opportunities in their lives, to practice their faith, to pass them. If you run to the medical profession whenever the smallest medical condition sticks out its head, you never get the chance to put your faith in action. If you run to a bank to loan money every time that you need money, when are you going to practice your faith? This is the reason why many Christians suffer defeat in their lives.
That dreadful day, when something happens that is just too overwhelming for Christians to handle or too hard to deal with, it is the end of the line for many of them. That is when cancer or a virus or a similar sickness takes their lives. When they had the chance, they just relied on the support systems of this world. They never practiced their faith, and at the end of the day, when it mattered, there was no faith. This is what I am talking about when I say that I feel so sorry for Christians that have to deal with situations that are just too difficult for them to deal with. In cases like this, if they cannot find a man or a woman of faith to help them, it is all over for them.
We need to decide that we are going to live through faith by every word that came out of the mouth of God. Now is the time. Today. Make that decision to live in faith today. God is faithful. The moment you make that decision He will see to it that nothing harms you until you succeed. It is guaranteed. It is not too late. By just starting this, by just deciding this, if you mean it, you will get a second chance. It does not matter how old you are or who you are. Just the fact that you have made that decision immediately guarantees God’s protection and favor. But you will be tested. When the opportunity comes, ask God to help you to trust in him and his word and not on the worldly support systems. Practice those spiritual muscles. Build up your most holy faith and do not be dismayed when you fail. As long as you get up and carry on. As long as you get up and push through. God will be faithful and He will maintain you. He will cover you and He will back you. Do not trust in life insurance, medical insurance, property insurance, electrical fences, alarm systems, banks, financial institutions, and similar worldly support systems.
God will help you to build your most holy faith by you making use of all those smaller opportunities in your life to practice your faith. Stop making use of the support systems of the world and live in faith and through faith. God will honor such a decision and He will help you with that.
It is time to change our lifestyles. It is time that we all rise to the occasion and do what needs to be done. Let us be a light in these dark times. Let us shine the light of Christ and let us be ready to give people to eat the word of God, the bread of life. Let us use this opportunity to change the world. The reality is that the coronavirus is changing the world rapidly every day. We need to help change it for the better. Let us show the world that there is a better way. A divine way of living. We have the opportunity now to make a huge difference in people’s lives and to change the direction of the world.
The world has indeed been under the power of satan lately. Especially during the past twenty years. Things have deteriorated quite a lot under the reign of corrupt and evil politicians. That is why God had to intervene. He raised men and women from all walks of life and in all spheres of influence to help him with this. God has appointed them and He put them in positions that made it possible for him to change many bad situations in the world. Donald Trump and thousands of other politicians successfully played their part during the past four years. Apart from politicians, God used his children in many areas and spheres of life to change the world.
As a result of that, a lot of good things were restored. A lot of wonderful things happened during the past four years. The caliphate that ISIS proclaimed in 2014 was defeated after they caused so much harm in the lives of many Christians and many good people and even children. Globalism took a huge knock. Evil political parties and their plans and strategies took a huge knock. Evil people that donate their time and money to support evil and evil strategies and conspiracies took a huge knock. Evil institutions and organizations and companies like the media giants took a huge knock. Much evil was exposed in the past four years. The plans and strategies of the enemy were exposed and destroyed. God laughed at them and He brought it all to naught. They had such a wonderful foundation. They were getting ready to take the success that they had over the past twenty years to a new level. But then disaster struck. God destroyed all their work and all their plans and they are back to square one.
People saw it all. They see it happening right across the world right now and they are rejoicing. There has been a lot of improvements but God is not finished yet. He is still doing what needs to be done and He needs us to help him. We all know that the enemy is not going away. He will keep on trying to oppress people and he will try to undo what God has been doing. We all saw the raging battle, especially in the actions of politicians and the corrupt media. Yes, even satan has people who help him to do evil. They are helping him to destroy and to kill and to steal.
People have asked me what does it mean when the Bible says that people are under the power of satan? What does it say and what are the implications of being under the influence or power of satan?
For instance, they read Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Or Luke 13:16
And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
In most translations, the words “oppressed of the devil” were used by the translators but in a few newer versions, the corrupt “minority text” was used, and the translations used the phrase “under the power of the devil”.
I think “under the power of the devil” suggests that people have less power than the devil. It suggests that people are kept in bondage because of the power of the devil and that is not true. Being “oppressed of the devil” suggests that people fall prey to the devil. He succeeds in making life hard for them. He causes things to happen to them that they do not want, which is a better translation. That is true and that makes a big difference. The first translation suggests that the devil can, especially when one brings it into perspective with Scriptures like Acts 10:38 and Luke 13:16, physically harm people whenever he wants to. And that is not true.
Most translations say that the woman of Luke 13:16 was kept bound by the devil and a few translations say that the woman was kept in bondage by the devil.
Based on the Bible, the devil can oppress people and he can keep people in bondage. Based on the Bible, he cannot harm people physically but he can cause them to be harmed and to be kept in bondage by getting them to act a certain way. He uses money, power and other popular incentives to do so. That is how he succeeded in getting politicians and the media and powerful people in this world to work for him or with him. However, they will never do it for free. They need to be paid. There is always one thing in common when it comes to all people who have been used or who are being used by satan. There is always some kind of incentive that makes them happy and keeps them hooked. To some, it is a position of power, along with the financial gain. To some, it is just money. To some it is pleasure. And as long as satan gives them what they want, he controls them. He uses people to change the world for him. That is how the devil controls this world.
The truth is that the devil and demonic spirits do this in the lives of all people. This is what happened to the woman of Luke 13 and this is what happened to the people that Jesus healed as mentioned in Acts 10:38. The devil oppressed them all by gaining control over their lives through lies and deceit and most importantly, through incentives. It is very similar to the sex industry and the illicit drug industry. Those in control gain from those that they control. The controlled are remunerated for their services but they lose their lives and their humility and their identity and their souls in the process. So although they gain something, they also lose something. Although they do not want to be controlled, they want to be there and they want this life-style because they get what they want. The incentive is the motivation to carry on with this bad practice.
When the devil controls powerful people and politicians, he can change the world. The dark reality is that when he controls people he can harm them as well. Not physically but through the actions of these people. They help him to destroy and to kill and to steal, they are remunerated for that, but then he kills and destroys them, by getting them to do things that will harm them eventually. At the end of the day, he harms the politicians and the powerful people that worked for him as well as ordinary people who helped him to cause damage in this world and the lives of other people.
How does he harm them? He causes the politicians to make decisions that harm their countries and themselves. Just look at what certain political parties in many countries stand for. It appears that they do not love their own countries and it appears that they are on a path of self-destruction. They are on a path of self-destruction. The devil uses the worldly support systems to put people in bondage. The more money you owe the world, the more you are in bondage. The more you rely on the worldly support systems, the more you belong to this world. Political leaders play their part in this evil network. They are just as addicted to power and money as the sex workers and drug dealers are to drugs and money. They sell their souls and the well being of their countries their own people for power and money and pleasure.
This is how the devil oppresses all people. This is how he oppressed the woman of Luke 13. This is how he kept her in bondage for 18 years. This is how he oppresses the world. This is how the world is kept in bondage. The devil will determine what incentive will allow him to control a specific human being, then he will use that incentive to control that human being to help him to destroy, to kill and to steal. He will cause harm to people and the world, through that person. And then he will hurt even that person, by getting that person to bring bad things over himself, through the person’s own actions. This is what demonic oppression is. This is how the devil controls people, governments, and the world.
But we, as children of God, are not in bondage because we are not of this world. This is true if we are not dependent on the systems and the ways of this world. If we are dependent on the support systems of this world we give the devil a foothold in our lives. We should not do so. We should not allow the devil to get control over any aspect of our lives.
But I do understand, it is easier said than done. We all started in this world. That day when we gave our hearts to Christ, that day our spirits were born and that day we got saved. Unfortunately, our souls and bodies did not get saved. Our souls and bodies were still dependent on this world although it did receive the ability to break away from the world on that wonderful day. We can allow the Zoe life of God to flow from our spirits into our souls and bodies. We can be delivered from all bondage. We can be saved from the world and it’s corrupt systems.
The coronavirus might just be the trigger that causes you to break away. This might cause you to do what you need to do, what you desired to do for a long time, and that is to live in faith. That is to live by every word that came out of the mouth of God.
But do not forget, you need to make the transition wisely. You cannot throw all support systems out without building up your most holy faith first. You cannot jeopardize the lives of your loved ones and your own life for that matter. You need to start with the smaller and easier stuff first. You need to study and know the word of God. You need to allow the Holy Spirit to build that word firmly into your heart. You need to allow the Holy Spirit to engrave the word of God on the tables of your heart. And you need to have faith before you step out in faith because without faith it is impossible to please God. I have discussed this whole process in detail in the series, “How to live successfully and Victoriously In Christ” which is available for FREE on my website, asrmartins.com. You need to listen to the whole course when you start this challenge. It will prepare you for this. You will know what to do and how to do it. It will equip you to live in faith, successfully and victoriously in Christ.
I think if we apply all the principles that we discussed today, we will be able to deal with this crisis, the coronavirus and everything that it entails, successfully and it will help us to spiritually rise to a higher level in Christ.
This is all for today. See you next time.
