106: Brian Carrick - Exhortation: Fear Not, God is in Control

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Welcome to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. I'm Levi. And I'm Chris. Thank you so much for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help each one of us get the Bible in our daily news feed. And we post at the start of each week for you to listen with a short intro beforehand to kind of set the stage for the talk you're about to hear.

2. 0:33

   And now, let's hear more about this week's talk. For our talk this week, we're listening to an exhortation that was given by Brother Brian Carrick from the Toronto West Ecclesia. And it's a little bit unique because instead of this exhortation being at the Toronto West Ecclesia, Brother Brian gave this exhortation at an ecclesia in Guyana, Africa.

3. 1:02

   And it was sent in by one of the members of that ecclesia as a recommendation. It's a unique path that this exhortation took. The reason that the sister that recommended this exhortation suggested it to us was because this is one of those ecclesiastes that is so incredibly uplifting and encouraging, especially during the times that we're going to right now.

4. 1:24

   Now, we've posted talks and there's been lots of exhortations elsewhere on COVID-19, the pandemic, and kind of that impact that it has on us. But as time has gone on, I think a lot of us may have thought that it was going to be a short window of time that this was going to be an issue.

5. 1:38

   And it's continued to be something that has gone on. And more and more, the world is sort of appearing to spiral out of control, no matter what anybody in the world tries to do about it. In his exhortation, which is titled, Fear Not, God is in Control, Brother Brian is just taking a look at how out of control the world might seem to be.

6. 1:58

   But then, as a result, we don't have to fear because of our faith. It can be really easy to look at what's going on here and kind of get worried and unsure what you're going to do. Instead of fearing, we're able to trust that God is in control of everything that we have going on.

7. 2:17

   He makes a lot of really good kind of analogies and connections to scriptures that can be used to be encouraging, kind of lessons from COVID. A couple of them I've heard in different classes, but some of these were unique. He makes mention of the Doomsday Clock, which I'll be entirely honest, I didn't realize was still a thing.

8. 2:37

   I thought that was a Cold War era thing and it had stopped ticking, if you'll pardon the pun. But apparently it's still a thing that's going on. So he has some interesting insights into that, which I found very interesting to listen to. As I said, this is just one of those exhortations that's really uplifting, encouraging to listen to, especially if you pay attention to the news at all, as there seems to be more struggles going on in the world around us.

9. 3:00

   So it's just a good reminder, one of those exhortations that just gets you fortified for the coming week and reminds you what an incredible hope that we have that even as the world seems to be completely beyond our ability to control and it isn't in our control, that God is in control of it no matter how crazy it might seem and that we just have to trust in him that he has a plan for everything that's going on.

10. 3:22

    And as long as we hold fast to him and to our hope and the hope of Christ's return to establish your kingdom, no foe can stand against us and no amount of craziness in the world around us will be out of our control. So with that, we are going to turn it over to Brother Brian Carricks for his exhortation, Fear Not, God is in Control.

11. 3:42

    Well, good morning, my Guyanese brothers and sisters. It's wonderful to be with you this morning and to share words of exhortation, which I hope are words of comfort and encouragement in these challenging days that we live in. I bring with me the love and fraternal greetings from your brothers and sisters at the Toronto West Ecclesia, as well as my wife, Sister Lynn, who's with me this morning.

12. 4:01

    How blessed I was to have been able to visit with you and meet many of you just seven months ago, and yet how quickly our world has changed since then. Welcome, I suppose, to the virtual Ecclesia. Quite frankly, I don't like it. None of us like change, but we have little choice in the matter.

13. 4:21

    It is indeed very different speaking to a computer screen. God are the smiles and greetings. Gone are the hugs and the shaking of hands of our brothers and sisters. Gone is the laughter and noisy chatter of fellowship before and after the meeting. Gone is the singing of hymns together. Gone is the beholding of the countenance of one's friend.

14. 4:44

    Is this the new normal? No one knows for sure. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, It was the last Sunday in March when here in Toronto, we were restricted to only five members attending the Ecclesia Hall in person. And after the encouraging words of exhortation, the camera zoomed out in preparation for partaking of the emblems, the highlight of our week.

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    And there, before our very eyes for the first time, were all those empty seats, reminding us of all those brothers and sisters and children we loved so dearly who were absent, not there with us that day, now sitting by ourselves at home. It made quite an impact on me when I first saw it, reminding me of what we take so often for granted until it's taken from us.

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    Does this give us some insight in some small way into the attitude of the Israelites after they were carried away captive into Babylon? David writes in Psalm 137, By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

17. 6:02

    For there they carried us away captive required of us a song. And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? Their life changed overnight. They lost everything that was familiar to them, including their freedom.

18. 6:26

    And while we have not been carried away captive into a strange land, life as we know it has certainly changed overnight, but for different reasons. As our presiding brother quoted from Hebrews 25, 10 and 25 this morning, we're not to forsake the assembly of ourselves together as the matter of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as we see the day approaching.

19. 6:52

    We do see the day approaching and quickly. We need to exhort one another daily. However, the laws of the land prevent us from assembling ourselves together as we are accustomed to. But the ecclesia, the ecclesia is not the building. It is you and I, brothers and sisters, wherever we are, wherever we meet.

20. 7:16

    And we take comfort knowing that where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Whether we are a few gathered together this morning, or literally two or three gathered together in our homes watching online, we know that God is with us in our midst wherever his people meet.

21. 7:36

    So we continue on our journey as best we can with Christ as our guide. I have written and rewritten this exhortation many times over the past few weeks as I contemplated that numerous change is taking place almost daily. Some troubling and some uplifting. There's hardly anything in the news today except COVID-19. And I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel some email fatigue dealing with the news of this pandemic day after day, week after week with no end in sight.

22. 8:09

    But then, by God's grace, we also receive welcome news from time to time. In the past six months since we've been home, our ecclesia has been blessed with the baptisms of eight of our young people, just as many other ecclesiases, including your own, have experienced. They see the signs around us. Even during this pandemic, God continues to take out of the world the people for his name.

23. 8:34

    With what joy as we scramble to make the necessary arrangements for the baptisms, taking into consideration the ban on gatherings of over five people. I spoke with a brother on the phone making plans for a double baptism. It was one comment he made that stood out and put everything into perspective for me.

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    He said, three baptisms in the hall in one week. What an enormous blessing. It won't go smooth, speaking of the baptisms, but then again, the walk afterwards isn't smooth either. We live in a world filled with widespread uncertainty, gripped by fear and anxiety without hope. But Jesus told us to expect this. In Matthew 24, he writes, Luke records the same thing in Luke 21.

25. 9:48

    There shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars and upon the earth, distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

26. 10:08

    These few verses, brothers and sisters, describe the very days we're living in today. There shall be famines and pestilences or plagues and earthquakes. You may have heard something called the doomsday clock. Scientists created it back in 1947 to convey the level of threats to humanity and the planet. The clock's original setting was seven minutes to midnight and represented a countdown to doomsday, a potential global catastrophe or the apocalypse as the world calls it.

27. 10:45

    The minute hand on this doomsday clock has changed. forwards and backwards 24 times in the past 70 plus years from its furthest of 17 minutes away from midnight back in 1991 to its closest of over only two minutes to midnight just last year. This year on January 23rd scientists moved the minute hand again 20 seconds closer to midnight where now only 100 seconds remain the closest it's ever been.

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    and that brothers and sisters was before the coronavirus became a pandemic. Men's hearts are truly failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.

29. 11:32

    The word fear occurs over 500 times in the Bible. The word afraid almost 200 times. And I usually look at the first occurrence of a word in scripture as my starting point in any study. you remember where the word afraid first appears in scripture. Back in Genesis chapter 3 the Lord called unto Adam and said unto him where art thou?

30. 11:58

    And Adam said I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. We know the story. Adam and Eve disobeyed. They knew what they had done was wrong. Their eyes were open. They tried to hide their nakedness with fig leaves. They tried to hide from God their creator.

31. 12:24

    Their failure to obey resulted in fear. They were now afraid. Afraid of their creator because of what they had done. God on the other hand was merciful providing a covering of skins. But there were consequences to their disobedience. They were destined to be to a life filled with fear, sorrow, hardship, and eventually to return to the dust.

32. 12:51

    Adam and Eve they lost their innocence. They lost their home in the garden. They lost their job as a gardener to dress it and to keep the garden. They lost their access to commune with God in Eden. and tragically they lost their son who was killed, murdered by a jealous brother. How tragic the life they had to endure, especially after experiencing what could have been in the garden.

33. 13:20

    But God mercifully had a plan and he gave them and us hope of something better to come. It is that hope that sees us through these difficult times in our lives, brothers and sisters, to see beyond the present trials we must endure to something far better than this life, something permanent and eternal.

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    Mankind has lived through numerous tragedies bringing sorrow and fear, some of them man's own making, numerous wars and battles including two world wars, others were environmental, extreme weather, droughts, flooding, storms, earthquakes, and there have been plagues, famines, extreme poverty, genocide, the list goes on and on. U.S. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned recently the coronavirus outbreak is the biggest challenge for the world since World War II, he said.

35. 14:18

    It could bring a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past. Well, World War II was before my time. My dad, he would have been 99 this year, he used to tell us stories about the war and what it was like living in the Great Depression in the years that followed in the 20s.

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    It brought years of untold hardship, fear, and sorrow to many. But there are more recent events in world history that have brought fear in traveling around the globe. How many of you remember 9-11? Well, believe it or not, you have to be at least 20 years old to remember that event. It was a Tuesday morning, 8.46 a.m., September 11, 2001, over 18 years ago.

37. 15:04

    I remember it quite vividly. Two passenger airlines flew directly into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and brought them crashing down. A third crash into the Pentagon building in Virginia, and a fourth into a field in Pennsylvania. a terrorist attack on a scale never before seen or imagined.

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    It was one of those times in my life when I knew exactly where I was and what I was doing at the time. I was at work. A typical day, we thought. We had only recently acquired the capability to watch news feeds on the internet for our computers at work. How that has changed.

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    Everyone was glued to their computer screens watching the news, which nearly brought the company's network to a standstill. What was our immediate concern? Well, each night our company receives financial transactions from banks and stock markets across North America and use them, the interest rates and stock prices, to calculate the value of clients' portfolios.

40. 16:09

    One critical fee came from State Street Bank. Our net processing was dependent on receiving their fee by 7 p.m. each night. If we missed that fee, the company risked huge financial losses. State Street Bank's data center was located in the Twin Towers, and their feed was unavailable for over a week.

41. 16:37

    The world changed in a moment. Eventually, the reality of what had happened began to sink in and fear gripped the nation and the world. And interesting, attendance at churches, synagogues, and mosques increased as many asked why, looking to their religious leaders for answers. But as Christadelphians, we knew why. The cleanup of the site at the World Trade Center took eight months.

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    New buildings were constructed, memorials erected, the world slowly returned to normal, and attendance at churches began to decline once more. Isn't it interesting that when trials and hardships come, people are more likely to turn to God than when everything is going well in their lives. Now, here we are, 18 years after 9-11, and the threat is now the coronavirus, COVID-19, something we can't even see or touch or do much about.

43. 17:36

    And fear has once again gripped the world and our lives have suddenly changed. Here is something that is not happening in some other country. It is happening everywhere, right here in our own backyards. I came across some interesting facts about the coronavirus, which would make for an interesting Bible class or public lecture.

44. 17:58

    Here's a couple points. The name coronavirus comes from the Latin corona meaning crown or halo. It refers to the appearance of a crown or solar corona surrounding the virus particles when viewed under a microscope, much like a solar eclipse. But there are seven known strains of the coronavirus that can infect humans. And this one, COVID-19, is not the first.

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    In fact, the first one, called human coronavirus OC43, occurred in 1960, 60 years ago. And there have been six since then. The more familiar one in 2003 was SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. coronavirus. Then in 2012, MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome related coronavirus. And finally, last year, COVID-19. This tiny virus has brought human life on Earth as we know it to a standstill.

46. 19:02

    All the nations seem powerless to control its spread. What advice should the world's health officials give us to deal with this pandemic? Well, wash regularly, practice social distancing, and if symptoms develop, isolate yourselves for 14 days. Now, this is fascinating. Unknowingly, they're following the law of Moses in washing and dealing with plagues.

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    Leviticus 13 and 14 deal with the plague of leprosy in individuals, in clothing, and in houses. Let's briefly look at these verses. Leviticus 13, verse 4, deals with individuals. 14 days. chapter 13, verse 47, deals with garments. The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woolen garment or a linen garment, and the priest shall look upon the plague and shut it up, shut up if it hath the plague seven days.

48. 20:33

    After seven days, if it spreads, they burn the garment, but if it was contained, they washed it and shut it up seven days more. Verse 54, then the priest shall command that they wash the thing where the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more. Again, 14 days.

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    Leviticus 14, verse 40, deals with leprosy in houses. Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days. And he shall cause the house to be scraped within roundabout, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place.

50. 21:14

    And they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and shall plass through the house.

51. 21:24

    Where have we heard the phrase, shut up or shut the door before? Well, first occurs with Noah in the ark where the Lord shut him in. It occurs with Lot in Sodom where the angels shut the door. It occurs in Exodus 12 at Passover time that none shall go out of the door.

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    It was shut. And there's one more, and this is very relevant for us this morning. It has to do with Jericho in Joshua chapter 6. Look at Joshua 6, verse 1. Now Jericho was straightly shut up because the children of Israel, none went out, none came in. And that, brethren and sisters, is where we're heading today with COVID-19.

53. 22:15

    If the pandemic gets worse, our cities will be shut up. None will go out, none will come in. But here in Joshua 6, the phrase straightly shut up in verse 1 gives us the context for the events that follow in the chapter. The city of Jericho is being described as a leprous house.

54. 22:37

    And by circling the city, the priests are inspecting Jericho for seven days. What did the priest do with a leprous house back in Leviticus 14? Verse 44. The priest shall look, shall come and look and behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house, it is unclean.

55. 22:59

    He shall break down the house, the stones of it, the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house, and he shall carry there forth out of the city into an unclean place. Verse 48. If the priest shall come in and look upon it, and behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed, and he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedarwood, and scarlet, and hyssop.

56. 23:29

    Well, we know what happened to the city of Jericho. The city was broken down. The stones, the timber, the mortar, it suffered the same fate as the leprous house. The wall fell down flat, and eventually the city was burned to the ground. But we also know what happened to Rahab and her family because of her faith.

57. 23:55

    Hebrews tells us by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them, but believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. Rahab listened to the two spies and hung a scarlet cord in the window. Scarlet was one of those items used by the priest to cleanse the house, once the leprosy no longer spread in the house.

58. 24:18

    Brothers and sisters, you and I are living in a world that has a leprous plague, and I'm not referring to COVID-19. Soon God will destroy the kingdom of man with their materialism, their pride, their arrogance, their self-centeredness, their eat, drink, and be merry attitude, the lust of flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

59. 24:44

    A truly godless society we live in today will ultimately perish. We know what happened to leprous Jericho. The wall fell down flat. What will happen to this leprous world? Well, if we look at the prophet Zechariah, two verses in chapter 14, Zechariah 14, verse 4, talking about the return of Jesus to the Mount of Olives, when his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall we move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

60. 25:26

    And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Hazal. Yea, ye shall flee as ye fled from before the earthquake, in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him. This verse in Zechariah talks about a very great earthquake.

61. 25:48

    We learn from a brother who spoke at the Palm Springs Bible School last February, and he gave the words of Zechariah 14 to a well-known seismologist who studies earthquakes, for him to read it. And the brother said to this seismologist, I'm not trying to convince you whether this will happen or not. But as a seismologist, as an expert in the field, if this account in Zechariah 14 were true, what would be the result?

62. 26:18

    Well, the seismologist read Zechariah 14, and his conclusion was, not one building in the world would be left standing. The world will fall flat.

63. 26:32

    We need to have faith, brothers and sisters, like Rahab, to prepare ourselves and be ready, lest we perish along with the world. We need to take hold of that scarlet cord in the window and what it represents. Scarlet is a study all in itself, which we don't have time to develop here. Interesting, the five women mentioned in the genealogy of Matthew are all linked together by scarlet, among other things, and all five are in the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ, who himself, we're told, wore a scarlet robe, robe.

64. 27:05

    Matthew 27, 27, And the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers, and they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe. Now when they had plated a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand, and they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews.

65. 27:29

    In short, the scarlet cord in Rahab's window in Jericho represents Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only hope we must cling to when the world around us perishes like Jericho. It is God, not the virus who have shut us in. What is God teaching us in our isolation while we wait? What should we be learning?

66. 27:53

    Well, we are all like little children sent to our room by our father to have a time out, time to think about what we have done or not done. God is giving everyone time, time to reflect. He's taken away all our worldly distractions. He's taken away travel. He's taken away entertainment. He's taken away sporting events.

67. 28:18

    He's taken away eating, drinking, and making merry. He's taking away all these interests the world seeks after. We really don't need them. And taken in excess, they're simply distractions, keeping us away from leading a godly life.

68. 28:35

    God has also taken our children out of the school system where they're taught about evolution, not about God and his creation. They're taught about alternate lifestyles, not a God-centered family leading godly lives. They're taught about inclusiveness, not keeping ourselves separate from the world. Our children don't need to be taught about those things.

69. 29:00

    But in his wisdom, God is giving us time, you and me, brothers and sisters, time to teach our children and our grandchildren truths from the Bible. God has isolated you and me in our homes and given us time, time for simple things, time to have meals together as a family, time to talk with each other, time to think and reflect on what is important and how we spend our time, time to read and study the scriptures, time to pray, time for each of us to be brought closer to our God.

70. 29:40

    Will a situation with COVID-19 get worse? Or will it get better so our lives can return to normal, whatever normal is? Well, we simply don't know. What does the world think? Many are gripped by fear, anxiety, and panic with no hope and no way out of this pandemic. Thousands of people are dying.

71. 30:00

    Others are truly afraid. But what we do know, brothers and sisters, we know that God is in control. He has told us these things will happen in the last days. And more important, he has given us hope. We only read part of the story in Luke 21. Let's read what happens next in verse 25.

72. 30:25

    There should be signs in the sun and the moon and in the stars and upon the earth, distressive nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken. But verse 27, and then shall they see the son of men coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

73. 30:50

    And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. While the world lives in fear, not knowing how long this pandemic will last or what will happen next, we need not be afraid. The phrase fear not occurs 71 times in the Bible.

74. 31:16

    Here are but a few occurrences for our help and comfort this morning. Deuteronomy 31 and 6. Be strong and of a good courage. Fear not, nor be afraid of them. For the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee. He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Isaiah 35 and 3.

75. 31:39

    Strengthen ye the weak hands, confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you.

76. 31:57

    We should have really read the whole of Luke chapter 12 for context, but let's start at verse 6. Are not five sparrows sold for two farlings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

77. 32:17

    Verse 32, Fear not, little flock, it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. And the apostle Paul wrote these comforting words to the Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 8, We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken.

78. 32:43

    We are cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. And finally, these words from John. 1 John chapter 4, verse 18, There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear hath torment.

79. 33:09

    He that feareth is not made perfect in love. And the familiar words in John 3, 16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

80. 33:28

    So, here we are this morning, brothers and sisters, just like the children of Israel about to celebrate their first Passover in Egypt, families shudder in their individual homes. The shed blood of the Passover lamb splashed on their doorposts, sitting, waiting, ready for deliverance. Brothers and sisters, we are about to celebrate the Lamb of God, who shed his blood and gave his life on the cross willingly for us, his friends.

81. 34:00

    We too find ourselves sitting together this morning with our families, confined to our homes, with the doors shut, remembering him. How symbolic. Isaiah 26 and 20, come, my people, enter them into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee. Hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the evening of indignation be overpassed.

82. 34:27

    For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her sin. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Thank you for listening to the Good Christodophian Talks podcast. Please subscribe for new episodes and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or whichever service you are listening from to help people find the show when they search for it.

83. 35:03

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84. 35:26

    If you know of a great talk, we want to know about it too. Send a suggestion to goodchristodophian talks at gmail.com or message us on any of our social media platforms. Thank you for listening. God bless and talk to you next week. having me be on the sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and sounds and