Pastor Don Mackintosh, Pastor of the Weimar Campus Church, discusses how the COVID pandemic has defined who is and is not essential in society. But who is essential in God’s eye. That is the most important Question. 

<p>Pastor Don Mackintosh, Pastor of the Weimar Campus Church, discusses how the COVID pandemic has defined who is and is not essential in society. But who is essential in God’s eye. That is the most important Question. </p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

Weimar - COVID-19

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COVID-19 and Revelation 16

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COVID 19- Having Peace in the Midst of the Storm

COVID 19- Stress Reduction

Daniel Binus

Allen Lloyd

How to Handle Stress, Anxiety, and Fear

Darren Greenfield

The COVID 19 Crisis - Agriculture and the Endtimes

Passover and COVID 19

Ted N.C. Wilson

The Virus of Sin

COVID-19: How to Deal with It Naturally

COVID 19 and the Laodicean Church

COVID 19 and Family Worship

COVID 19 and God’s PPE (Protective Personal Equipment)

COVID 19 and the Fear of Death

COVID-19 What is Essential? Who Decides?

Dealing with the Demon of COVID-19

COVID-19 according to Hebrew 10:25

COVID 19, Miracles, Science and You


Today, we're gonna talk about, we're gonna talk about essential services. Essential services. You know, during this last several weeks, maybe 6, 8 weeks, there's been a lot said about what's essential. Charlotte, you're essential because the state of California says that you and the team of Levites here is essential to deliver religious services. There are some places where that's not being said, but it's being said in the state of California, which allows us to worship still over the internet and have a skeleton crew here.

So you are essential. Don't forget that. Then also I saw, As I was looking, that farm workers, those who are growing food, are essential. They had a bunch of signs up and they said, you are essential, and everybody was waving to them. And of course we can't forget health care workers.

They are essential. Now athletes? Not so much. Not essential. Interestingly enough, they say liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries are essential.

I don't understand that. I knew though that the Bible talks about getting high, but God is most high. How many can say amen to that? I think if they could go to get liquor, they should be able to come to church, but I'm not in charge of those decisions. We need to be drunk in the Spirit.

We need to walk in the Lord. Amen? So I want to talk today about essential versus non-essential. How do I turn this on so I can see if there's anybody chatting? Does anyone know how to do that?

You know how to do this? I don't know. You want to try and turn this on for me? I have 1 of my technological Levites work on that so I can see if you're saying anything. Okay, essential versus non-essential.

So I hope this is coming up on the screen now. Essential versus non-essential. Okay, basically what I want to tell you today is that you, whoever's watching, you are essential to God. You are essential to God. Now how do I know this?

That's what we're gonna look at in our brief devotion today. Number 1, you are always on God's mind. That's what the Bible says. The Bible is a set of text messages where he has texted you and it says in Psalm 8 verse 4 and 5, what is man that you are mindful of him. So he thinks about you and by the way perhaps perhaps we should just pray and invite the Lord to be with us here.

Let him know that we're on his mind. Father in heaven, bless us as we open your word. Send your spirit in Christ's name, amen. So you're always on his mind. What is man that you are mindful of him?

It says in Psalm 8. He has crowned Him, that is you, with glory and honor. He's thinking about you. Hebrews 7 25 says, He ever lives to make intercessions for you. So he's praying for you this morning.

He's praying for you. He prays without ceasing. And in fact, I like this text in John chapter 17 and verse 24. He says, I would that they be with me where I am. You know, He believes that you are essential to him.

And we think that's a precious thought, that God is thinking about you. Oh, the wonder of it all, that God loves me, that Jesus loves me. Just saying that this morning, that's why we sang that song, because that's what the Bible teaches number 2 you are his child you are in fact his relative He says I'm not ashamed to call them my brothers. And it also says that in Acts 17 28 and 29 we are his offspring created in his image. And then in Genesis 1 he said let us make men in our image.

In 2 Corinthians 6, verse 18, he says that we are sons and daughters of God. He's not ashamed of us. How many of you have ever been out with your family and they got ashamed of you. They acted like maybe they weren't related to you. Sometimes my children do this, you know.

I'm out and I'll be saying things or doing things and they don't want to act like they're related to me. I know Once I was in the mall and they wanted to buy some things in the mall, the mall's not open anymore. Aren't you thankful? That is not essential, can you say, men out there? I mean, I'm rejoicing a little bit in that.

But anyway, we were in the mall and 1 of them wanted something. I won't say who it was, which if they're watching, they might not ever associate with me again. They might be ashamed of me forever, but I was in the mall with them, and they wanted something, and I said, no, you can't get that. And They didn't like that. So I started to sing that song that I learned from Dr.

Nelly. I don't like it. I don't like it it's okay, it's okay, I can stand it anyway and Then I just you know I was kind of humming it and they kind of gave me the look And when they gave me that look, I felt like, you know, since I'm already ostracized from the family, I might as well sing a little louder. And so I just sang a little, I don't like it, and then they really, really were ashamed of me. They began running away from me.

But Jesus does not do that. He's not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. Can you say amen this morning out there? That's a blessing. All right, you're going to have to text me, folks.

I can't see your chat here, I don't know. We can't seem to get it up working here. So he provides, number 3, he provides for your needs. You see the picture there of Jesus feeding the 5, 000. He provides also the sun, he provides the rain, he provides fruitful seasons and food and gladness.

So, you know, it's been said that Bill Gates, with all of his money, or the richest man in the world, I'm not sure if it's him anymore, but I think it's probably up there in the top 5, maybe the top 2, He could not even feed the birds for 1 day. If you said, Bill, you know, we're gonna send you the bill, just feed all the birds, couldn't do it. He'd be bankrupt. But God provides the sun and the rain, the fruitful seasons, And He provides food for every creature. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. You know why He provides food? Because you are essential. You're essential. He wants to support you with life-giving sun and rain and food and of course gladness.

Well let's keep going. You're essential for these 3 reasons we've already seen. Is there more? Oh yes. You know that you're essential because He sacrificed His own Son.

He sacrificed indeed Himself. God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He gave Himself to save you for God. So, love the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him. That's whosoever.

I love that text. Whosoever. You know where that text is? John 3. And whosoever.

It's talking in John chapter 3 about Nicodemus. And Nicodemus came to him in the middle of the night. He was in the top percentage of the Pharisees. He was in the top 2% of the entire nation. He was connected and he was educated and he came to Jesus in the middle of the night and he said, whosoever believes.

And so you're essential, Nicodemus, even though you're a little confused, you are essential. But then, in the very next chapter, it says in chapter 4, verse 1, that he had a need to go through Samaria. You don't have to go to Samaria to go where he was going, but he had a need to go through there because there was a lady there who he said was essential, and he saw her in his mind's eye and he realized she was feeling unessential. She felt like she had messed everything up. She was an outcast.

She came in the middle of the day to the well because she felt like she was not liked by the other women, which probably she wasn't, and she was made to feel unessential. But Jesus came, and that text applies to her as well. She came in the middle of the day and Nicodemus came in the middle of the night and right in the middle he says, whosoever believeth in me shall not perish but have everlasting life. He doesn't want you to perish. Paris is not the first death, it's the second death.

He doesn't want you to perish because He wants you to be with Him. He wants you to live with Him forever because you are essential to God. What a wonderful thought that He would do that. He gave His 1 and only Son, and we are reconciled to the death of His Son. Anything we've done wrong, He can make it right, because He sees that we are essential.

And He has loved us, 1 John 4, 10, and given himself for us, and sent his son to be the propitiation, that is the satisfaction, that is the payment or penalty, gave himself as a ransom for our sins. Not only that, number 5, you are so essential that he has a book. He has a book. Let's look this 1 up maybe. He has a book.

We'll look it up in a couple places. I have only 1 text there on the screen. Let's look it up in Philippians. Let's look in Philippians. And in the book of Philippians, Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians.

Look at what we have here, look at what we have. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. And chapter 4. Therefore my beloved and longed for brethren. What beloved and what longed for brethren.

In other words they're essential. My joy and my crown so stand fast in the Lord beloved. And I implore you dear and so think they to be of the same mind in the Lord. Add a little variance, why? I urge you also, true companion, to help these women who have labored with me in the gospel, with lament also, and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are, what does it say?

In the book of life. Man, how many of you want to have that confidence and assurance that your name is in the book of life? Wow, how many are thankful that he actually has a book of life? And they can know, they know their name is written in the book of life. And then he says right after that, rejoice in the Lord always.

And again I say rejoice. You can rejoice because you are essential to God. He's done everything to save you. He sacrificed himself. He's not ashamed to call you brethren.

And he wants you to be in the book of life. And then finally, or next to finally, pretty close to the end here, in our short devotion, He thinks you're so essential that he has gone into the heavenly places to prepare a place for you. Has your name on it. It's built just for you, Charlo. It has exactly, I don't know what you're gonna look like in heaven, but he knows exactly.

You're gonna be known even as you're known. It's not gonna change. I'm gonna be able to recognize you. Your family's gonna be able to recognize you. He knows who you are, and he has a mansion for you.

Charlo's Mansion. Wow. Because you're essential. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also.

John 17, 24. I would that they be with me where I am Wow essential to God I don't know about you but this warms my heart I'm preparing a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself." And then finally the last 1, the last 1 on our devotional so we can get into our prayer time at 8 30. Right across 8 30, we have a zoom call. So we're almost on time here. Number 7, He greatly values you.

And let's look at this text together in Matthew chapter 10. Look at this wonderful text. Matthew chapter 10, Matthew 10 29. Are not 2 sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not 1 of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will.

Now why were they selling those sparrows? You can see there that there is the sanctuary there. And some people were so poor that they could only bring sparrows for the sacrificial offering. And then he says, Are not 1 of them that falls to the ground apart from your father's will? But the very hairs of your head are all dumbered.

Do not fear therefore, for you are of more value than the sparrows. He knows where every sparrow fell. He feeds the birds. He clothes, he clothes the flowers. He sees them as essential, but he even sees you as much more essential.

Are you not of more value than the sparrows? You know, I don't know where you are watching this morning. You might be languishing on a hospital bed, gasping for breath. God has provided resurrection power. This is not the end if you've accepted him.

You may have to rest a while, but his eye is on Sparrow, and I know he watches you. Maybe you are feeling lonely. Maybe you're feeling not worthwhile in this throwaway time period where people who have various medical conditions are told we're not going to give you a priority if you come to the hospital we're not going to do that Because there's other people that are more valuable. You are essential to Him. He's done everything for you.

He came, He lived, He died, He rose again. Why not give your heart to the 1 who broke His heart for you? Let's pray together. Father in heaven, thank you that your eye is on the sparrow and that you watch us. Bless us throughout the rest of this, your Holy Sabbath day.

In Christ's name we pray, amen. If you'd like to know more about Audioverse, or if you'd like to listen to more sermons, please visit www.audioverse.org. You

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Weimar - COVID-19

COVID-19 What is Essential? Who Decides?

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