While the scientific world is running around trying to control Covid and a supposedly new variant, the church of Jesus Christ has a secret pandemic of its own. It’s so secret that for years now the church has failed to infect the world successfully with this strain that Jesus introduced to the believers in His day. What’s this secret pandemic you may be asking? It’s the Good News. Known and spread by the apostles as the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As Christians we are called to infect/affect the world with the power of the gospel and the holiness of God. Our pandemic, when spread effectively, leads people from death to life, darkness to light, bondage to freedom. All through the powerful vaccine that’s been tried and tested for centuries. The powerful Name and blood of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit who’s the mastermind and power behind the effectiveness of the vaccine's power to deliver change, works in concert with the heavenly CDC, God the Father and God the Son, to advance the spread of the pandemic. In one fell swoop three thousand souls were infected by the one hundred twenty carriers of the pandemic. Is this the first time you’ve heard about this pandemic? Where have you been? Let me take that back. Of course you haven’t heard. You’ve been attending church.
You see when this pandemic broke out the one hundred and twenty were on lockdown. They were ordered by their Government to stay in Jerusalem until the pandemic and the vaccine showed up. Because, you see, this Government had both the pandemic and the cure. The spread of the pandemic was predicated on the ability of the spreaders to follow orders. What would bring on the pandemic was: 1. Obedience, unity, worship and prayer. 2. They had no idea how long they’d have to remain on lockdown, but they remained faithful to the CDC’s instructions not to leave the quarantined area. The importance of being obedient was key, because the mysterious application of the infection of the promised pandemic could occur at any time.
Excitement, anticipation and the mystery surrounding the order was at an all time high. But one thing was certain, Jerusalem would never be the same after the pandemic hit. Heaven had received back the main player after a rough three days, hell had experienced its own lockdown. Jesus led a revolt and delivered His people, paraded the opposition making a public spectacle of them, through His cross. Colossians 2:15 Having completed His mission He was now seated at the right hand of Total Power. The conference was now in session to make good on His promise to send the Agent who would begin the administering of the global pandemic to this new church. Luke 24:49. The decision was made, the third member of the CDC was being dispatched and the waiting was soon to be over. The one hundred and twenty spreaders of the pandemic ( the gospel) would now receive the awaited vaccine ( the baptism in the Holy Ghost) for some who are afraid of ghosts, the Holy Spirit.
At this moment nations were gathering in Jerusalem. They had no idea that a pandemic was brewing. They were holding conferences, business meetings, some were attending church meetings, others were just having an ordinary day. The sound coming from the lockdown of the one hundred twenty had crescendoed. Something had shifted, and then the unimaginable unthinkable, inexplicable happened!
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.””Acts 2:1-13 ESV
When you can’t explain it, just label it. Call it drunkenness. Call it hysteria. Call it anything but what it really is: Christians doing what Jesus said is supposed to happen when we spread a pandemic of Good News. We have all received power, I think. But what has happened? We’ve gone underground when Jesus has called us to shake up our cities, states and nations. We’ve run from a virus instead of spreading a pandemic of our own. We’ve offered no answers to the bewildered world. We’ve instead allowed the government to spread their narrative of fear and isolation. Listen to what followed the infection of power/pandemic. The world deserves an explanation. The church has the pandemic and the cure. Most everything we encounter in life has a spiritual counterpart. We’re supposed to be like firefighters, we run in when others are running out. But today we can’t identify who’s who. Read Daniel 3 & 6 and learn of past pandemic spreaders.
“But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself .” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”
Acts 2:14-24, 32-33, 36-41 ESV
Three thousand souls caught the pandemic and received a cure all at the same time! Peter could’ve been offended by being called an alcoholic, but instead he countered the misconception by enlightenment. He introduced them to the cure for their disease (sin) and got them infected with the pandemic of the Good News and not one person refused the vaccine. When life is offered in place of death, and the evidence is compelling, people will line up wholeheartedly to receive the shot. You don’t need to coerce, force, compel or beg. Just lay out the honest truth. Give the accurate facts to support your testimony. They were eyewitnesses. So are we through our experience with the pandemic. Why are we running away instead of running towards the culture? Did we receive the same Vaccine? Has the Holy Spirit lost His power? That number of infected people grew to be a whopping five thousand. Acts 4. The isolation and lockdown was only until…it wasn’t permanent. They left the room. Things began to happen because they could no longer confine the pandemic to a room.
“And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:43-47 ESV
The title of this message is the Christian’s “secret” pandemic. Secret because the world and this current generation has no clue about Christianity and what or Who it represents. There’s no evidence, no proof that we serve a real all powerful Creator. No evidence that lives can truly be transformed by a simple truth called the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That the Blood of this God-man can wash away every stain and stench of sin. That the Bible is truly inspired by Him and that it’s His divine truth. We have given them no reason for wanting to be infected by a pandemic that was designed to change the hearts and souls of mankind. Instead we have exchanged the Gospel truths for manmade myths and opinions. Self aggrandizing and greed. We have reduced Him to a method. Made him familiar and reduced His holiness to slangs. JC, the man upstairs, the big guy. We flippantly use His Name as a means of expressing our frustration. No reverence, no honor, no fear. When are we going to stop being secretive? When are we going to be authentic? What good is a good thing if we keep it to ourselves?
I pray the Lord begins to expose the secret saints and secret agents in His house. I told you about the student who was shocked to learn that his teacher was a Christian. I shared with my neighbors during Covid that the only thing they’ll catch from me that will infect them is Jesus. The true cure for all diseases, the true cure for all sicknesses, the true cure of all manner of sins and the only reason to come out of the closet. It’s time to spread a global spiritual pandemic! We talk and talk but we have no action to our words. James calls that dead on arrival faith. James 2:14. I know we were locked out of the buildings for a while, but that shouldn’t have slowed the pandemic of the church. People are dying walking by shuttered church houses. May God help us to get our spiritual backbones back, get our spiritual spines back, and begin to infect the world with the pandemic of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Then Jesus appeared before the eleven apostles as they were eating a meal. He corrected them for having such hard, unbelieving hearts because they did not believe those who saw Him after His resurrection. And He said to them, “As you go into all the world, preach openly the wonderful news of the gospel to the entire human race! Whoever believes the good news and is baptized will be saved, and whoever does not believe the good news will be condemned. And these miracle signs will accompany those who believe: They will drive out demons in the power of my name. They will speak in tongues. They will be supernaturally protected from snakes and from drinking anything poisonous. And they will lay hands on the sick and heal them.” After saying these things, Jesus was lifted up into heaven and sat down at the place of honor at the right hand of God! And the apostles went out announcing the good news everywhere, as the Lord himself consistently worked with them, validating the message they preached with miracle-sign”
Mark 16:14-20 TPT
THAT'S WHAT A SPIRITUAL PANDEMIC PRODUCES. Evangelist Billy Graham was a modern day spreader of the pandemic, causing millions to receive the vaccine producing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, through the preaching of the Good News. What have you been spreading? Have you infected anyone lately?
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
July 29, 2021