“The post COVID-19 Christian volunteers” by Pastor Akinpelu

Pastor I.D.O. Akinpelu

   
                              

 MATTHEW 5:3-12

INTRODUCTION: Jesus Christ is the most pragmatic and proactive Leader that ever lived. When He was teaching His disciples, He was building and preparing them for what to come. He knows the future and wouldn't want any of them to fall victim of unpreparedness at any point in time.

1. He taught them theoretically and practicality how to meet people's need- Ministry. Luke 10:1-23.

2. He taught them in Beatitude in Matt. Chapter 5 on how He wants them to look like in the nearest future. All His teaching are always in future tense. He was very proactive.

3. He taught them extensively the subject of eschatology in Matt 24. All His Teachings has future connotations.

4. The pernicious, pestilential and pandemic covid-19 has open our eyes to how much needful it is to be proactive. Pre-covid-19 caught so many unaware but I don't think it would not be to dangerous to allow post covid-19 to still meet us unprepared.

Who is a Christian Volunteer?

There two major kinds of people in the Christian community serving.  They can be classified as workers and volunteers. The only difference between them is that while workers serve in expectation of wages, the volunteers serve without wages' expectations

 THE NEW REALITY

√ Life is about seasons: Rainy, sunny winter,summer, harmattan, sowing and reaping seasons.

√  Change is constant and inevitable. Whoever that resists change dare the danger of extinction in similitude to dinosaurs.

√ Life is a journey, life is not station, anyone that tries to make it a station ends up in frustration.

√ Proper preparation is needed in every bit of ramifications for the post covid-19 season. It will surely come to an end but inevitable change follows.

POST COVID-19 NOTABLE CHANGES

1. THE VIRTUAL REPLACES THE PHYSICAL

Things will change from tangibles to intangibles. Physical building, staff, branches, cash, banking may all goes into extinction. Size and value will no longer be measured by what we can see. There would be a paradigm shift from physical to virtual.

2. LITERACY BECOMES REDEFINED

Robbery Kiyosaki redefined education as simply getting necessary and needed information to better your life financially and otherwise as against the traditional formal education that required the four walls building and paper certificate. He preferred potential certificate to paper certificate. After all there a lots of Professors that are languishing in the pool of poverty. Bill Gates was a dropout and so was Mark Zuckrberg. They got necessary and needed information for their life.

Literacy in pro covid-19 would be your ability to understand, makes a maximum and optimal use of the available technological gadgets, surfing of webs, and generally getting adapted to iot(internet of things).

3. MOBILE REPLACING THE STATIONARY

Making it early to office might become a thing of the past. Your multimillion dollars office can be your smallish palmtop which you carry anywhere or your laptop which you can set up anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes. Stationary Church building and monument like dome may no longer be necessary, stationary shops, offices, may all go into extinction.

4. DIGITISATION WOULD REPLACED MANUAL

Manual required physical energy, makes production slow and waste a lot of time. But digital makes it faster, perfect with less or no waste of time and materials. Digitization would affect virtually everything. E.g. Restaurants salon, transport company, publishing, law firm. Everyone would have to run a fully digitalized business that leverages technology.

5. MIND POWER REPLACING MUSCLE POWER

Mind power, thinking power would replace physical power. One would have to balance prayers with thinking. It takes thought to produce things. People would have no choice than to become a how thinkers, positive thinkers and productive thinkers. This is era when people would have always eschew wasting of thought through worries.

THE LIKELY NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF COVID-19
1.  Economic meltdown or recession
2.  Financial hardship
3.  Worldwide famine
4.  Schizophrenic symptoms - a mental illness that causes withdrawal, irrational  behaviors
5.  Loss of job
6.  Loss of salvation or spiritual fervor
7.  Loss of hope
8.  Depression
9.  Mass suicide
10.  Loss of precious relationships and connections
11.  Assets redundancy-lands, houses, cars, stocks
12.  High costs of consumables especially foodstuffs
13.  Dwindling revenues and inability to pay salary regularly
14.  Bankruptcies - individual, corporate and national
15.  Intra community and inter communities banditry
16.  Possible outbreak of war between nations

THE PROMISES OF GOD TO HIS CHILDREN IN TIMES LIKE THIS
1.  Ever abiding presence (Isaiah 43:2; Heb.13:5)
2.  Abundant life (John 10:10)
3.  Provision (Psalm 23:1)
4.  Protection during disaster and death (Psalm 23:4; Deut.32:10-11)
5.  He promised to do new things (Isaiah 43:18ff)
6.  Good health (Exodus 15:26)
7.  Immunity from harms and dangers (Matthew 10:16)
8.  Satisfaction in time of famine (Job 5:20; Psalm 33:19; 37:19)
9.  Wealth transfer (Proverbs 13:22; Eccl.2:26; Esther 8:2; Job 27:16-17)

Pastor I.D.O. Akinpelu
Mission Pastor, Akinyele Region