The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Samson Ayokunle, has said the outbreak of the dreaded coronavirus is a consequence of sin and human wickedness as well as an indication of the end of age.
Ayokunle spoke on Sunday March 22 while delivering a special sermon, “Looking unto Jesus: I Shall Fear no Evil” on a cable television, New Frontier TV, according to a statement by his media aide, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji.
Church Times, which reported the statement, said Ayokunle took his text from Numbers 21: 4-9.
Ayokunle, who is also the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, identified sin of ingratitude, pride, arrogance and the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ as the reason for the pandemic currently ravaging the world and has killed thousands across the world.
He therefore called on people for a change of heart and live a godly life.
“The arrogance of man against God and lawfully constituted authority led to God’s anger and judgement on the people. People say anything today against God and against the word of God,” he said.
“The Holy Scripture’s injunctions which are God’s commands no longer matter to us. We query the validity of the word of God and deliberately act against it. All practices that would make us worship God we reject or abandon under the guise of fundamental human right.
“In some advanced nations, anything about God must not be mentioned in any public event neither can people worship God nor share the gospel with their neighbours. Doing so is an offense. This pride and arrogance against God came because of advancement in technology.
“We feel we can do many things without God and thus become ‘god’ to ourselves. Technological advancement should make us to reference God the more because he is the revealer of knowledge.”
Ayokunle said the anger of God is being revealed against the wickedness of man by sending Covid-19.
He further stated, “People are slaughtered or kidnapped to be slaughtered or for ransom. Time will not permit me to talk about the wickedness of ritual killing for money making and fraudulent practices all over our world especially our nation Nigeria. People including believers walk about half dressed like insane people and even dress like that to houses of worship to pollute many. Promiscuity is everywhere. We have sinned against God and he has sent to our midst a fiery serpent!”
“Beloved, are we not provoking God daily for not being able to appreciate his goodness. Don’t we easily forget all the good things he has done for us before when another small problem arises? How grateful are we to God when we have experienced his goodness? We need to stop complaining and murmuring. We need to begin to appreciate him the way we speak and act. It is of the mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed.
“The second coming of the Lord to take his people home and judge the world of sin is drawing closer than ever before. What is happening now is happening because our Lord Jesus Christ’s predictions about the signs of the end must come to pass. (Matthew 24:7-8). All these things are calling our attention to a focus on Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith so that when he comes we would not be found wanting.”
Ayokunle charged the people not to be afraid of COVID-19 reminding them of how God used the blood of the lamb to protect His people in Goshen when the angels of destruction were killing the first born of the Egyptians.