“Hurricane Fatigue”
March 29, 2019

Welcome to Cross Creek Community Church. I am Pastor Rebecca Hyvonen, lead elder
of this loving body of Christ. On behalf of the people of our church, our leaders, and our
elders, I welcome you warmly.
In case you didn’t know, our church worships and serves at Creekside Middle School, in
Pt. Orange, Fl.
And, in case you didn’t know, Volusia county schools are closed now until at least April
15. Guess what that means? You’re correct. We cannot meet there right now.
And of course even if it was open, we could not meet because of social isolating
restrictions. I want to thank all of you who are working on “flattening the curve,” and
practicing social distancing and self-isolation too.
This is a difficult and challenging time, but also a marvelous time in which churches are
finding new ways to stay connected and reach others. Some are using UTube channels.
We are not because we do not yet have our own worship facility.
Some are using Zoom. We are not because we’ve heard from many of you that tell us
you don’t want to be seen. Oh yeah, it’s ok for you to see me, but you don’t want us to
see you! Yeah. You can stay in your pajamas, not brush your hair, and not put on
makeup and yet still gather together! Enjoy!
By the way, isn’t it great that when we are around others right now, six feet apart, of
course, they won’t even know if we have bad breath?!?!
Anyway, some churches use Skype. Some are using other venues. And some, like us,
are using Facebook Live. Thank you, by the way, Facebook, for making this free live
streaming available to us. And as you share this broadcast with others, Facebook
friends, if they don’t have FB, but have email, you can send them the link!
So. We are not able to broadcast from our worship facility which is why you are not
seeing our praise team lead us in worship just before the message is brought to you.
We are working on something, though, which might bring us some live music next week
first, from our church office. But in the meanwhile, I hope you did some personal or
family worship this morning before coming on FB live. I posted some music suggestions
with which to worship prior to live streaming together this morning.
We believe it is very important to begin with worship. And the more and longer worship,
the better! This is what empties us of us, and helps us focus on God. This is what
ushers in the presence, and the power, of the Holy Spirit.
On that note, let us pray. [Pray - include prayer on eradication of Covid-19 virus...]

Did you know that every semester, on college campuses across America, there are
hundreds, if not thousands, of students who kill off a grandparent right before mid-term
exams?
No, grandparents aren’t actually murdered by their college attending grandchildren, but
students use this excuse, “my grandpa, or grandma died,” to try to get out of taking mid-
terms. It is a well-known phenomenon among educators known as the “dead
grandmother problem.”
This is actually the most tense time for college students each semester because this is
when their grades will determine whether they continue in their class(es) or flunk out. I
guess we could call it, “Crunch Time."
There’s another phenomenon that happens in Florida when major hurricanes are
approaching and the newscasters have been warning us for weeks. It’s called “Storm,”
or “Hurricane Fatigue.”
The waiting, the watching, the ever changing forecasts and ultimately an outcome over
which we have no control, other than our own actions and preparation, is extremely
stressful.
I think we’ve begun to hit that time with all the covid-19 news we’ve been hearing for
weeks.
It’s now been 18 days, or 2 and 1/2 weeks, since this virus was declared a world-wide
pandemic.
It’s Crunch Time. And it’s Coronavirus Fatigue time.
We may be feeling overwhelmed by all we’ve heard and seen. We may be going crazy
with all the various scenarios we might be imagining. (Or are being imagined for us
every night on the news!) We might be going a little stir crazy too with staying home so
much! ( Check our Amy Iverson’s beautiful testimony on how God overcame that for
her!)
Anyway, this morning, I invite you to get rid of the fatigue!
Shake it off! Don’t go there! Don’t give up. Don’t give in. You will make it through this.
And you’ll come out better in many ways.
I want to encourage you this morning not to live in fear!
We are people of faith, not fear!
You may have seen the following on a Facebook post recently:
“Fear says, “What if?” But “Faith says, “Even if.”
Dear friends. Please don’t go down the path of… what if? Please stand tall and firm
and strong in Christ and say… even if!

If you are in Christ… if you have declared with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe
in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, … you are saved! (Romans 10:9)
You have nothing to fear! Elsewhere in Romans (8:38, 39) we’re told that even death
cannot separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
For it is with your heart that you believe, and are justified, and it is with your mouth that
you profess your faith, and are saved.” (10:10)
These are classic Bible verses from Romans 10:9,10, also known as “TNT,” (because
they’re dynamite!), This is the beautiful answer to the question “How do I become a
Christian?” Salvation is as close as your own mouth and heart.
The point is that with this deadly virus, we do not have to fear. We can choose not to
fear. You see, if you are in Christ, you don’t have to fear death. Even if we die, we know
where we’re going. We’ll be in our real home, Heaven, which will be far better than
earth! “You called my name,” Lord, “and I ran out of that grave!” (Check out the scaled
down version of this song, “Glorious Day” by New Song Cafe on worshiptogether.com )
Look fear in the face and tell it to flee! Sing these songs out at the top of your voice!
“I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God!”
And “the breakup song,” by Francesca Battistelli “Fear you don’t own me…”
And then there’s “Tell the devil not today!” by Hillsong.
Also meditate on the beautiful “There is no fear in love,” by Stephanie G.
And of course, Zach Williams song, “Fear is a liar!”
That’s right. Fear does not come from God. It comes from our enemy the devil who is
also known as “the father of lies.” (John 8:44) So don’t believe fear. It’s a lie.
When the Great Depression was at its peak, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in as
President on March 4, 1933. His words are forever remembered from that speech.
He began with these words, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only
thing we have to fear is fear itself."

The only thing we have to fear, dear friends, is fear itself! Fight it! Don’t give in to it!
There are so many things we can do right now to fight off fear.
Turn the TV off! Take a walk. Get to know your neighbors! Help others!
Yes it’s “crunch time,” but you don’t have to fear being kicked out of college;
Yes it’s a stressful time, but you don’t have to worry about what the hurricane might do!
And you can choose NOT TO give in to the fear and panic that so insidiously lingers
over the television and other sources!
For one thing, there have only been 1,711 deaths in the US as of yesterday, from covid-
19. There were 12-61,000 deaths in the US from the flu last year! (Hopkins)

-5-

Take a deep breath, people. Do it again. And turn off your TV! Go outside. Breathe in
fresh air. Marvel at the beauty of God’s creation!
And stay close to God. Pray. Listen.
Stay in worship music that glorifies Him. And stay in His Word.
I’d like to invite us to turn to the book of Hebrews this morning.
We mentioned Hebrews 12:1,2 last week, where we’re told to “throw off everything that
hinders us… and run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on
Jesus…”
Keep doing that.
And now let’s look at Hebrews 10:19-25. [Pray] [Read]
The writer of Hebrews begins this section with “Therefore…” This means… Hey!
Sit up and pay attention! What comes next is important!
We’re told here that we can have confidence… not just a little bit of head bowed, eyes
squeezed shut, hesitant, quietly whispered possibility of a little hopefulness… but
BOLD, CONFIDENT, STAND UP TO YOUR FULL HEIGHT WITH CHIN UP, STOMACH
IN AND SHOULDERS BACK, CONFIDENCE!
Because of the work done on the Cross by Jesus the Christ, for all of us, and because
of His precious, priceless blood shed for our sins so that we CAN be fully forgiven and
reconciled and reconnected to our Heavenly Father because of the love of His only
Son… we can therefore enter the Most Holy Place!
Because of Christ, there was a new and living way, (notice the word “life” is in living…
life… the opposite of death… confident belief… the opposite of fearful worry…)
opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body.
Before Jesus went to the cross for all of us, the Most Holy Place in the temple was
sealed from view by curtain.
Only the high priest could enter this holy room, and he did so only once a year on the
Day of Atonement when he offered the sacrifice for the nation’s sins.
But Jesus’ death removed the curtain, and all believers can now walk into God’s
presence at any time! We can go running boldly to the throne of God!
In fact, Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

If you feel you are in a time of need… Run to the throne of grace!
As Joyce Meyers says, “Don’t go to the phone, go to the throne!”

-5-

We can approach God boldly, free from guilty consciences, and in full assurance,
because of the work of Jesus Christ!
{You still with me?!}
We can go to God without doubting, knowing that He will hear and answer us.
We have personal access to God through Christ and can draw near to Him without an
elaborate system. Believe it! Practice it! Share this good news with others!
We can grow in our faith, overcome doubts, and deepen our relationship with God.
Notice we’ve been reading and meditating upon Scripture from Hebrews chapter 10.
Do you know what comes after 10? Yes! 11!
Hebrews chapter 11 is known as the “Hebrews Hall of Fame,” or “Hebrews Hall of
Faith,” or perhaps even “Hebrews Hall of Faith Fame!
The author lists many great ancestors of our faith, who demonstrated great faith.
We can too!
This chapter begins with these words we may need to memorize if we don’t know them
already: “Now faith is being sure of what hope for, and certain of what we do not see.”
The NIV says “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what
we do not see.”
Friends, we must exercise our faith. Like any muscle, it will atrophy if it is not exercised.
Keep sure of what we’re hoping for. Be certain of what we do not see.
Have confidence. Have hope.
In the book of 2 Kings, there is a great story in chapter 6:15-17 of how God provided an
army of angels leading horses and chariots of fire to protect the prophet Elisha and his
servant. The servant did not see them, though.
He only knew that when he went out earlier, all he saw was an earthly army,
surrounding the city, with horses and chariots.
He cried out to the man of God, Elisha, “What shall we do?!”
Elisha responded, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are
with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open His eyes, Lord, so that he may see.”
Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses
and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
We spoke last week of how our God is “Yahweh Saobeth,” the Lord who fights our
battles. We can trust in Him. We need not worry. We need not fear. We can have faith.
Speaking of faith, please be in prayer for Cindy Gray as she has surgery this
Wednesday at Advent hospital...
And April 1 is also the day our church becomes officially engaged to Dove International.

It’s also the day my husband begins early retirement... a great example of something
good coming out of something bad!
Also, if you know of anyone who just needs someone to talk to, or to pray with them,
please be that person! Also the leaders of our church stand ready to help as needed.
Finally,
Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for the One who promised is faithful.”
And that is the crux of this message.
We are in mid-term “crunch time.” We are experiencing “hurricane or storm fatigue.”
Yet “we won’t be shaken.”
We will be strong and courageous. (Joshua 1:9)
We will “just keep swimming.” And encourage one another.
It’s faith building, fear fighting, encouraging one another time! LET US HOLD
UNSWERVINGLY...this means full steam ahead without even looking to the left or to the
right... no swerving... just pedal to the medal opening it up on the straightway ahead!
(For more car racing analogies contact Chuck Fast) HOLD UNSWERVINGLY TO
HOPE!
And now, as you hold on to our hope, receive this blessing:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may
overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

Amen!