I thought I would reach out and address some of the things that I’ve been meditating on and wrestling with in the midst of our present crisis. First let me encourage you to do what the Lord and faith is telling you to do. I was reminded of Romans 12:3 that states: For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. My interpretation of that would be for all of us to live according to the dictates of our faith and conscience. The measure of Grace and faith I have may be lower or exceed that which you have. Thus we all must respond accordingly seeking to please our Lord and Master.

This places us squarely in the middle of a Biblical conundrum. We are commanded to submit ourselves to our authorities, love our neighbor as ourselves, and walk by faith not by sight. If you obey one commandment you may actually disobey another. For example, Scripture states in Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities,²⁵ Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching. Thus we are commanded to not forsake the assembly of the saints, yet Scripture also states that we are to submit ourselves to our governing authorities. Which one do we obey? We go the way of faith. Recently I was reminded that church is not a building but a gathering of believers. In fact church defined by Jesus in Matthew 18:19-20 is the gathering of 2 or 3 in His Name. Thus church can be in the thousands or as small as 2 or 3. But what constitutes it as church is when we gather in His Name, doing what He taught us to do in our gathering. Some have used the logic that they can worship at home watching Charles Stanley, or sitting in a deer stand. But that does not constitute having church. Church is an assembly of believers to worship Jesus through fellowshipping or co-sharing our relationship with Jesus. Biblical worship manifests itself in trust, surrender, obedience, singing, thanksgiving, giving, prayer, reading of the Word, witness, and ministering to one another. Just to name a few. I can worship Jesus from the deer stand but that does not constitute Biblical Church. I can learn God’s Word from watching Charles Stanley – but again that does not constitute church. All of this to say that if your faith dictates that you stay home continue to gather with your family for Biblical Church. And if your family is not the size of the Dugger Family invite another family to gather with you and worship. That could begin a revival and awakening all across this land if we would take this step. One day I suspect we will have to make that choice – but until then assemble in Jesus Name and participate in as many aspects of worship as possible.

Next thought I had was that during this time of crisis, fear and panic seek to be a source of hope, peace, light and love to your neighbors by simply knocking on the door and checking on them. See if they need anything. Especially check on your older neighbors to make sure that they have all that they need – especially toilet paper (LOL). Whoever dreamed that we would have a toilet paper apocalypse? Reminds me of a time back in the 70’s or 80’s when Johnny Carson made a comment about there being a shortage of toilet paper and everyone hurried to the stores to clear the shelves. Actually creating a shortage. Later Johnny had to admit that he was just joking.

As I stated before walk by the faith that the Lord has given you the Grace for. Some of you are naturally concerned for your own health or the health of your loved ones. There are those among you who have loved ones who’s health is already compromised. The last thing I, or anyone else, would want you to do is to expose them to any potential hazards in the form of germs or viruses. But always remember to never allow your concern to be transformed into fear, worry, anxiety or full-blown panic. This is sin and is the opposite of faith and trust in the Lord. Preacher, and author Bill Johnson states: The biblical command repeated most often is: Do not fear. Why? Fear attacks the foundation of our relationship with God—our faith. Fear is faith in the devil; also called unbelief. Jesus would ask His fearful disciples, “Why are you so faithless?” because fearfulness is the same as faithlessness. Fear is also a decay of the heart. It attracts the demonic in the same way as bitterness and hatred. Like faith, fear is substance in the spiritual realm. Satan has no power except through our agreement. Fear becomes our heart’s response when we come into agreement with his intimidating suggestions.
Thus we are exhorted to walk by faith and not by sight, realizing and understanding that God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind. Scripture reminds us that if we are abiding in Love, we are abiding in God. If we are abiding in Love and God, fear is cast away from us. We are a people of faith and we all know that without faith it is impossible to please God. Irrational fear is to be treated as the devil himself. When he comes to visit – do not answer the door. Send Jesus. James 4:7 states what we are to do: Submit yourselves to God. That’s the first step – surrender or submit yourself to the Lord. If He hasn’t been Lord over this crisis and your fears, confess it, and return Him back to His rightful place – the throne of your heart. Restore Him back to ruling over your mind, will, emotions and personality. He’s better at it than you are anyway. The second step is, Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Often when we are tempted our first instinct is to seek to resist the devil. That’s a mistake. One that will cost us the battle time and again. The very first step is, Submit yourselves to the Lordship of Jesus over your life. Once you do that you have His power to resist instead of your own limited will power.

Another thought I had. Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. One thing I’ve observed over the years is that God’s principles work for all people – whether they are born-again or not. For example, Scripture teaches we reap what we sow. If an unbeliever begins giving generously to others, practicing this principle, whether conscious of it or not, they typically get blessed in return. Thus the same must be true regarding Romans 10:17. In the Greek text the word used for “word” is the Greek word “rhema.” The definition for “rhema” literally means “out of the mouth of God.” It implies revelation, and understanding. The other Greek word for “word” is logos. Logos refers to the written, recorded, words or sayings of God, or Jesus. Thus Romans 10:17 states that what really encourages our faith to blossom and bloom is the words, the revelation, the understanding that proceed out of His Mouth, by and through His Spirit. Those words cause our faith to grow. What’s interesting about God’s principles is that they also work in the demonic realm. Scripture teaches that satan is a liar: You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. John 8:44

Thus if you can take the principle that Faith grows from hearing words then you could make an argument that unbelief grows through listening to lies. What’s my point? Much of what is on the news is designed to sell, and make money. Each news station, whether tv, radio, or the internet is pandering to a certain demographic. In other words, they are a business, not a charitable organization. Businesses must make money in order to keep the proverbial lights on. This results in misinformation, inflated information, half truths, and personal – business centered bias. To sum all of that up: the news is based mostly in half truths inflated to make money. This means that half of what you are receiving isn’t good for you. In other words it builds unbelief. Psalm 22:3 states that God inhabits the praises of His people – not the news of CNN, FOX, NPR, MSNBC, or CBS. For many the news is just another addiction that simply needs to be cut off. Many will say to me, “But pastor we need to be informed.” I agree, but limit your input. When your daily input of information from the news exceeds your daily input from the Spirit and Word – something is wrong. As the old adage reminds us: “GIGO – Garbage In Garbage Out.” Readjust your schedule to make more time to fix your minds on things above – not on things on the earth.

Recently I had a conversation with the Lord that you may be able to glean some lessons from. During my time with Him I asked if this corona virus, locust invasion of East Africa, and the fires that burned in Australia, and not so recently California an indicator that the Last Days had begun? His answer to me: “Look it up.” I did and here’s what I discovered:

When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” ⁷ When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” ⁸ So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:5-8

I’m not the greatest mathematician in the world, so forgive me if my numbers are way off. But when I did the math the present world population stands at 7.8 billion people. According to this prophecy – if it is to be taken literally and not symbolically – 1/4th of the population would equal 1.9 billion people – give or take a million. If we add the numbers of those impacted by the fires, the swarms of locusts, and the virus, the numbers don’t even come close to 1.9 billion people. Now you could caution me by saying, “Now Robert, we haven’t seen the final numbers on this virus.” Which is true. But according to the experts this virus dies once the weather heats up. If this is true it appears that through our governments immediate actions to halt the spread of this disease, and the heating up of the environment, that this virus is going to be short lived. My limited conclusion is that all of these things are simply a dress rehearsal for the real thing. Now that should cause more alarm than the virus or a shortage of toilet paper at the grocery store. Jesus stated in Luke 18:8 Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Jackie brought this up last night during our prayer meeting at church (Yes we are still meeting to pray. But there were only 9 of us). She prayed, and I paraphrase, Lord if you returned tonight would you find us doing what You called us to do? That’s the question, we need to be focused on. Which returns me to my opening line: First let me encourage you to do what the Lord and faith is telling you to do. As Romans 12:3 states: For by the grace (unmerited favor of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and think of himself more highly than he ought [not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance], but to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree of faith apportioned by God to him. My interpretation of that would be for all of us to live according to the dictates of our faith and conscience.

We must all respond according to the Grace and Faith God has supplied us with. We must be led by His Spirit and His Word, not allowing one to exceed, or supersede the other. And lastly may He find us doing what He told us to do, pleasing Him with hearts burning hot with faith and love.

We love you and want you to remain safe. If you are showing any symptoms of being sick, simply remain at home and join us online. It’s not the same as being here – but it keeps you in touch with what’s going on at church. If there is anything you need, like a hug, food, transportation, and yes, even toilet paper feel free to contact me (704-785-4748 or resjes@msn.com), Jackie, John David, Church Office, or your deacon. Don’t forget we are still seeking to minister to the Lord through worship, and prayer every night from 6:30-8:30, meeting at the church till Thursday, April 9. We are fasting and praying 40 days for a wedding of the Spirit and the Word in our lives, Lastly, if you need prayer, and encouragement give me a shout and we will see Jesus show up in our gathering.

Sorry, the preacher in me can’t stop. One last word of encouragement from Babylon Bee (If you don’t subscribe – do so. It’s Christian satire and it’s pretty funny)

God To Ignore Quarantine And Continue Being Everywhere

HEAVEN—The CDC now recommends for everyone to stay home and avoid going out as much as possible. Despite this, reports are that God is breaking quarantine and going absolutely everywhere. Hospitals, nursing homes, prisons — wherever He is needed, God is going. He is reportedly visiting everyone and checking on everyone in this time of need and not using any amount of social distancing. God is said to be following the absolute best practices, though, and is at no risk of making people sick but only making people better. “We have absolutely no control over the guy,” said CDC spokesman Jim Wells, “which is extremely frustrating. We want to remind you, though, that you’re not God, so please stay put in small groups.” God is also reportedly trying to get people to stop hoarding toilet paper and instead put their treasures in Heaven. Treasures that don’t include toilet paper.