To be anxious is natural for human beings. We will take precautions against danger only when we are aware of undesirable consequences. In times like the current pandemic, we will not go to crowded places out of anxiety of getting infected. However, to be over-worried is unnatural.

Presently, because of COVID-19, the majority are anxious. The number of infected people is increasing all over the world. Though the numbers may be lower in Singapore, we will still be anxious. The speaker saw in a report that almost 2.2million people in America have been infected; 118,000 passed on; 8.2million infected over the worried; 446,000 passed on.

In this pandemic, it is not easy to be not anxious. But we have Jesus as Christ and Saviour and the encouragement from the Bible is this: because He is our Christ and Saviour, we need not be anxious. If we know how to trust in our Lord God, He will care for us and protect us. If we use YouTube, there is testimony from a sister in Brooklyn, New York, who contracted COVID-19 on 28 March 2020. She was taken to the hospital in the middle of the night due to high fever. When she arrived at the hospital, she was first brought to a waiting area outside to be checked. Only later was she allowed to enter the hospital. The sister was put under observation and was confirmed later to be infected with COVID-19. She endured 7 days of suffering.

Thank God she has Jesus Christ whom she can trust in because nobody could help her in the ward; the hospital staff were too busy with patients. She had to keep visiting the toilet because she had to vomit; the last time she did, she could not even walk. She leaned against the wall but couldn’t go further; thank God a nurse saw her and wheeled her to the washroom on a wheelchair.

For the next 2 nights, she received little attention from hospital personnel. The only time they came in was to give her medicine. She was anxious and lonely because she knew that many died from COVID-19. On the hospital bed, she thought of her loved ones at home; her children, siblings, parents; none of them could be by her side at that time. As a migrant from China, her English was not proficient and could not communicate well with the hospital personnel.

Thank God after 2 days, 2 other nurses came into the ward to check on her. With her broken English, this sister was able to communicate with one of the nurses. She told the nurse that she had not eaten for 3 days and requested for some food. The nurse was very kind and went out of her way to get the food her family helped order in the hospital.

After 7 days, she was discharged from the hospital and she thanks God that though the experience and trauma was vivid in her mind, she could recover because Jesus was her Christ and Saviour; the prayers to the Lord had been heard and now she is reunited with her children to lead a life of faith in Jesus Christ.

With Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we need not be anxious. In God’s plan for us mankind is the work of Christ. Christ is the mediator between God and men as well as the Saviour. When He incarnated in the flesh, He dwelt among men. He brought the grace of God upon all mankind.

Jesus’ birth was through a virgin named Mary. When Jesus was born, angels announced His birth in Bethlehem. Angels appeared to the shepherds in the field. Read Luke 2:10-11;

10 ‘Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ‘

This was how the angels announced the birth of Jesus - “This is good tidings of great joy, for there is born to you in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”

The birth of Christ had already been planned long ago and the Old Testament records prophecy of the birth of Christ. In Acts 10:43;

‘To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”’

The prophets here referred to the prophets in the Old Testament. Nobody knew Jesus’ name in the Old Testament but He was prophesied. The prophets bore witness that through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive the remission of sins. Jesus, who is the Christ and Saviour, had been planned by God for mankind. Because He IS Christ, there is salvation for us; Jesus Christ forgives our sins because He is God who took on the role of Christ. In Him, there is eternal life. We turn to John 17:3;

‘And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ‘

“This is eternal life”
This is why Jesus Christ addresses Himself as the bread of life and whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. Life is very short and death is the end of our lives on earth. Because of death, many are anxious. Especially in this current pandemic where there are already 446,000 deaths. Though the death toll in Singapore is considerably low, when death comes upon a person, he and his loved ones will definitely be anxious. With COVID-19, children will always tell their aged parents to avoid going out. But does it mean that when you don’t go out, death will not come upon you?
Yes, because we will not die of COVID-19 if we remain at home, away from infections.

No, because we will all die. We have to be prepared for any sudden deaths.

Because we have Christ in eternal life and we have Christ as our Saviour, it is not necessary to be anxious; we will enter eternal life.

Jesus Christ lived to an age of 33 on earth and He spent the last 3 years of His life preaching the gospel. The 12 apostles were with Him in the ministry. When the time came for Christ to die on the cross, He had to be physically separated from His disciples. To comfort HIs disciples, He said John 14:1-3;

1 ‘“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ‘

Jesus Christ comforted His disciples even though He was to be physically separated from them. He told them not to be afraid because He had gone to prepare a place for them. Later on, they had faith in the will of God and weren’t anxious even though they suffered pain to the point of martyr. Read 2 Timothy 4:18;

‘And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!’

Paul said this before his execution in 2 Timothy 4:6;

‘For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ‘

This was his 2nd imprisonment and he knew that he would be executed soon. But because he had Jesus as his Christ, he knew Jesus would always be with him. In Jesus Christ, he had eternal life. Hence, he said in v18, “the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom.”

Though Paul was imprisoned, he did not lose hope and wasn’t overly anxious because the Christ he believed in had resurrected and ascended to heaven. His Christ is Saviour and was still doing the work of saving men in heaven. In Christ, there IS eternal life. Hence, 2 Timothy is a letter full of hope and strength. 2 Timothy 4:7-8;

7 ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.’

Paul was fully certain that he did not have to be anxious in Christ because in Christ, there is eternal life. Though death by execution is a very fearsome thing, Paul continued not to be anxious because he knew that he would be united with Christ after his execution. This is why he could write 2 Timothy 4:7-6 to express his victory over life; he had accomplished the will of God for him.

Coming back to us, Jesus is still our Christ; He is on the right hand of the Heavenly Father doing the work to save us. This is very assuring because we know that we will all rise from the dead to meet our Lord Jesus in heaven.

Acts 7:55-60 talks about the martyr of Stephen;

55 ‘But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.’

Stephen was 1 of the 7 chosen ones to serve God by giving out food to the widows serving the apostles. Stephen also preached the gospel but his enemies wanted to harm him and accused him resulting in his death by stoning. V55;

‘But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

Jesus Christ was with Stephen even when he was being put to death. Jesus Christ was STILL his Christ, Jesus was at the right hand of God mediating for him. Hence, v59;

And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Stephen calmly handed his spirit to Jesus Christ and knelt down crying in a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin!”

Stephen was not anxious over his death because he knew that he would be reunited with Christ in heaven. This is why he could continue to have faith and trust in the Lord; could even have the strength to forgive those who stoned him.

Today, our Christ has resurrected. What is the significance of this resurrection? Read Ephesians 1:16-21;

16 ‘do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.’

The letter to the Ephesians is 1 of the 4 prison letters. This was during his 1st imprisonment in Rome; 2 Timothy was written during the 2nd imprisonment.

In the 1st imprisonment, Paul wrote this letter to comfort the believers and to tell them the significance of Christ’s resurrection as well as His seating at the right hand of God. Because Christ rose from the dead, He overcame death. The power of death is of the devil. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He had overcome death; He had overcome the devil. The Bible calls Jesus Christ the first fruit of the resurrection, meaning there is resurrection for us who believe in Him. Through the resurrection of Christ, we are born with a new and living hope. We shall rise on the last day and inherit eternal life.

The passage in Ephesians 1 talks about the significance of Christ’s resurrection to us NOW. After His resurrection, He sat at the right hand of God. What does this signify? This is a very mysterious thing that we can only understand if the Holy Spirit opens our spiritual eyes. This is why Paul prayed that God would give the Ephesians the revelation and wisdom in the knowledge of Christ so that their understanding could be enlightened. This is so that they could know the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory, the exceeding greatness of His power. If we have spiritual enlightenment to understand these things, then even with sicknesses and the possibility of death, we will not be anxious.

What is the hope of His calling?
It is not the riches in the world, longevity on earth, or having many descendants. This hope concerns the kingdom of God and this hope is already in us. Because Christ has risen from the dead, we too shall rise from the dead to receive an eternal inheritance.

Here talks about the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. The people of the world may be well-educated, rich, powerful, mighty, and high in status, they do not have the glory of the riches that belong to the saints.

Today, we are children of God because Jesus is Christ; He is our Saviour and has redeemed us from sins. Jesus Christ used His blood to justify us so that we can be sons of God today. This grace is the riches of the glorious inheritance.

V19
We have the power to overcome sin. We do not need to be slaves of unrighteousness anymore. Because the power of God is in us, we can overcome sin and most importantly, overcome death. This is the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead; this is the power that gives us spiritual resurrection. Those who believe in Christ and truly repent and baptise, will be raised with Christ. Spiritually, we are no longer dead and slaves of unrighteousness but slaves of God. All this is possible only because Christ resurrected from the dead to sit on the right hand of God. Though life on earth is full of troubles and sufferings, we need not be afraid because Jesus is the Christ; He has resurrected and is now seated at the right hand of God.

Read Hebrews 7:24-25;

24 ‘But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.’

Because Jesus is Christ who lives forever, here says that He has an unchangeable priesthood. In the Old Testament, the priest intercedes for the people (like the role of a mediator). Today, Jesus Christ is the great High Priest. As He continues to live, the work of Christ continues. Here it says, “always lives to make intercession for them.” Jesus sits at the right hand of God to do the work of God; this is why it is so precious to have Him as our Christ.

We’ve discussed that Jesus is the Christ and Saviour, and His role as Christ continues forever. Though He died on the cross physically, He continues in this work of saving men.

What must we do since we believe in Him? There are 2 things we must persevere to do so that we need not be anxious on our days on earth:

1. Keep ourselves in the love of God

Christ loved us and He died for us. When we believe in Him and become children of God, we must strive to keep ourselves in His love. We must always have this love to give us strength. Turn to Romans 8:35-39;

35 ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

“Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril sword”. All these are hardships.
Even if we can find rest after COVID-19, the economic impact of this pandemic will (or has already) hit many. Many will lose their jobs and have no income. Many will go hungry and as a result lose hope. The impact of this pandemic is truly tremendous. All the nations of the world are suffering no matter which country you live in. But if we keep ourselves in the love of Christ, these hardships will not overcome us. Hence v37 tells us “we are more.. loved us.” If we keep ourselves in the love of Christ, we will experience HIs love for us.

How do we keep ourselves in the love of God?
Most importantly is to keep the commandments of the Lord. The Israelites who kept the law of the Lord in the 40 years were able to enter the land of Canaan while those who did not keep the law perished because of their faithlessness. Throughout their 40-year journey, God loved and provided for them. God gave them food and water. Miraculously, their clothing and sandals didn’t wear out; the Lord provided for them. The people who kept commandments of the Lord did not perish because of the lack of food because the Lord cared for them. Yes, the days ahead will be hard but just as God provided for His people in their 40-year journey, we will enjoy His providence if we keep the law of God and dwell in the love of God.

2. Pray and present our supplications with thanksgiving to Him

Yes, we will meet with hardships but when we do, we can ALWAYS turn to God and pray. The Lord will grieve with us. Hence, Peter says to cast all our cares upon Him for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7) This care for us is the love of Christ for us. No matter how faithless we are, He still cares for us because He is a God who loves us. This is why we must learn to pray to present our requests to Him. Paul says in Philippians 4:7;

‘and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’

If our requests are made according to the will of God and we give thanks to Him with faith, He will grant us what we pray for. If what we request is not according to His will, still give thanks to Him. We may not receive what we want for ourselves but God will still care for us. This is why the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Hence, we need not be anxious. Whether our prayers are granted according to the way we want it or not, as long as we know that we have faith and give thanks, the peace of God will be with us. Then, we will be able to be at peace and not be anxious.

We thank God that we have Him as our Christ today. We thank God that we believe in Him, that He has washed us clean with His hearts, and that He cares for us. Though we now go through trying times, let us not be overly anxious because we know that Christ is still interceding for us.

Read Revelation 8:1-4;

1 ‘When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. ‘

It will be the end of times when the 7 seals are opened. The 7 trumpets will be blown and the 7 bowls of tribulation will be poured out.

This passage talks about the opening of the 7 seals. It is accompanied by half an hour of silence. Before the 7 trumpets were blown came another angel with a golden censer standing at the altar; that is the altar of incense. This is why the angel was given much incense to offer it with the prayers of all the saints. This incense is the golden altar before the throne; this throne is the ark of the covenant. All these tell us of the Holy of Holies in the Tent of Meeting.

Burning incense is like prayers. In v3 talks about another angel. When Elder Elijah (from TJC) studied the book of Revelation, it was mentioned that the other angel refers to Jesus Christ. Jesus intercedes for the Saints at the right hand of the Father. Jesus will be given more incense and offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar.

When we meet with hardships, we have Christ who intercedes for us. Especially before the 7 trumpets have sounded, that is the end times, hardships will fill the lives of many because calamity befalls us. Indeed, the saints have to pray earnestly; but Jesus Christ will pray even more earnestly for us. If our prayers don’t happen in our will, it is because it is not according to His will. But when Jesus Christ prays for us, He will pray according to the will of His Father. His prayers for us will be effective and hence bring us the blessing of God so that we are kept in His grace until eternal life.

With Jesus as Christ, we need not be anxious but it does not mean that we do not care. We are concerned but we also try to understand the will of God. We leave the burden to Christ because He cares for us.