And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14
Greetings My Brothers & Sisters in this Great Gospel:
Well, where do we begin? On January 21, 2020 the first confirmed COVID-19 (Coronavirus 2019) case was confirmed in the United States. In February, the outbreak was thought to be contained, but began to accelerate with rapid spread. Shortly into March, we found ourselves living in a pandemic world. I can only think that many of us, could have never imaged the word “pandemic” in our vocabulary. Things like this happened when my Grandparents were younger, but not in the millennium. We have modern medicine, technology, science, economics, etc. Even with all the advancements in our world, a pandemic existed as well. This outbreak forced many new changes, both small and great. There was enormous pressure not only America, but also on the church. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were playing a massive game of catch-up to control the spread and multiplying cases. Governors across this country were taking guidance from the CDC to cease close contact functions or events, wear a mask in public, stay 6-feet from others, wash your hands in HOT water and place the sick in quarantine for 14 days. That meant some places of employment and churches were being closed because many of those entities operated by people being near one another. Wait, What??? No, more church as usual.
Wait, What??? No, fellowshipping. Wait, What??? No, Praise Leader or Choir Rehearsal. Yep, you heard it, or read it, correctly.
As a child sitting in church, Bible class, or Sunday School, I often heard our theme scripture for this VICTOR read or quoted. Every time I heard Matthew 24:14, it would give me pause and wonderment. How could the gospel of the kingdom be preached in all the world? Before the invention of the home personal computer, the world seemed massive, and people could only be at one place, at one time. As technology evolved, new platforms called social media began to emerge. These platforms were interactional. People could create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities or on networks that could go LIVE! However, there were still many entities and people who did not see the necessity to be apart of these social media platforms. But then comes along a vehicle called COVID-19. Let me be perfectly clear here, COVID-19 has indeed been a threat to humanity, and under no circumstances will I underscore the devastating impact that it has had on those families who have lost loved ones, or those who fought back to health by the grace of God from suffering from the disease.
COVID-19 has been a vehicle to push out what I call “Divine Creativity”. Entities trapped in the past of doing things have been forced to refocus and see it differently from a different lens. It is not just the Mega Ministries who are reaching communities via tech platforms, but it is also; campus ministries, storefront ministries, garage ministries, living room ministries etc. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube! The gospel is being preached and these social media platforms are instrumental in getting the gospel to all the world for a witness unto all nations. God is a Righteous Judge, and the Gospel is his witness. Titus 2 admonishes us; “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to ALL MEN, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this PRESENT world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
Recently, we were in service on Facebook LIVE & Instagram. In the feed several of the saints noticed while our Bishop was up delivering the gospel, that a gentleman left a message from Mexico. Several of the saints began to show him loving kindness and before we ended, he typed; “Thank you for having me.” During another service, a gentleman wrote, “My mother will soon be making her transition, and this is exactly what I needed on today.” I replied and began to encourage him to keep the faith, it is not over until God says, so, and he is still a Miracle worker.
There is an appointed time that COVID-19 will be no more. I truly believe that statement. However, I admonish the church to remain faithful, focused, and in the spiritual operations of “Divine Creativity”. Of course, I cannot wait to hug my momma, I cannot wait to hug each one of my spiritual children, but until then, let us continue to build on our Godly platforms to make sure that the gospel of the kingdom is being preached by any means necessary.
Until we meet again, Keep the Faith!
Lady Demeta~