Sunday, March 22, 2020
“Just Follow the Light.”

Hey Everybody.
It’s good to be connected this morning via FB Live.
On behalf of the elders, leaders and people of Cross Creek CC, welcome!
Grab your Bibles if you haven’t already. Or get ready to access it electronically.
If you don’t have an actual, physical Bible, please contact our office and we’ll
make sure to get you one.
Now, would you join me in a prayer, please. [Pray]
I don’t have to tell you that we are currently living in an unprecedented,
uncharted, remarkable history-making time. It’s a crazy time. It’s a scary time. It’s
also a creative and teachable and innovative time. And a faith-building time.
I don’t have to tell you what’s going on. Unless you’ve been totally disengaged
from the news, you know that our cities, counties, states, and countries are being
overrun by the coronavirus. Or as one of our friends (Randall) calls it,
the “Mexican-beer virus.”
It’s also known as covid-19. That’s one syllable shorter so it’s easier to say.
Whatever you call it, it’s a highly contagious virus that has been swiftly spreading
across the world.
There’s a website called worldometers.com which gives the latest statistics
concerning coronavirus cases:
As of this morning, there were 311,796 cases worldwide. A total of 13,071
deaths. And 95,838 people recovered! That’s over seven times more people
recovered than dead, from the virus!
China has had the highest number of cases. Italy the highest number of deaths.
Antiqua, Barbuda, Chad, Niger, Papua New Guinea, and Somalia only have one
case and no deaths. You can read the rest of the statistics for yourself.
There are scientists working around the clock to create a vaccine for this virus.
Meanwhile, however, we are being told to keep gatherings to 10 people or less.
We’re being warned to “social distance” at least 6 feet from other people. And
those over 60, and with underlying health conditions, are being told to “self-
isolate.”

China, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland and
Spain have implemented the world’s largest and most restrictive mass
quarantines.
In the U.S., Illinois and New York state joined California on Friday in ordering all
residents to stay in their homes unless they have vital reasons to go out.
Introverts are loving this. Extraverts are finding it very difficult.
In Florida, public beach accesses are now closed. Public schools are closed too,
until at least April 15. And Orange and Osceola Counties have now implemented
curfews between 11pm and 5am.
Restaurant in-dining has been closed. Gyms have been closed. And hair salons
just got the order yesterday. (Oh dear… watch out as our true colors emerge over
the next few weeks. Hello gray hair… or is it silver? And ok all you guys who
have secretly wanted your wives to have longer hair… it’s happening!)
It’s a crazy and unsettling and tense time.
Yet it’s also a creative and less structured and intimate relationship-building time.
The Bible has a lot to say about how to deal with such a time as this.
God and His people have stories reaching back to the very beginning of it all,
encompassing tough times. Showing how He is faithful. He is with us.
Think about it.
There was the flood in Genesis.
Droughts and famine too.
Esther’s people were about to be slaughtered. And Job lost everything.
“But God…” as the Bible often says.
But God provided a giant boat for Noah and his family, and it’s estimated
…70,000 animals! …to survive the flood.
And by the way, I saw a FB cartoon recently that said, “Noah only took 2 of
everything.”
Let’s practice that the next time we go shopping too!” I think it’s pretty much
mandated now, anyway. Let’s not live in fear. Let’s not hoard supplies. Just get
what you need. And share as needed. (Story of neighbor and bananas.)
Anyway, then there was the story of Joseph. “But God” caused Joseph to rise up
to second in command in Egypt, despite several soul-sapping, heart-wrenching
episodes in his life. Ultimately, he was able to feed numerous people who would
have otherwise starved, including his own family from another country.
And because of God, Esther summoned the courage to speak up to the king,
which could have resulted in her own death, to save the lives of her people.
Job refused to blame God and, despite unhelpful advice from unhelpful friends,
was “more blessed the latter part of his life than the former.”
God will help us get through this time. We can draw close to Him and stay close
to Him and He will give us His peace and His wisdom. We can trust in Him.
We’re gonna be ok.
There’s a current contemporary Christian song out right now, by Brian & Jenn
Johnson, entitled, “You’re Gonna Be Ok.” I encourage you to listen to it, worship
the One of whom she sings, and receive the peace this message of hope brings.
For some of us right now, it may be all we’ve got to “just be strong.”
It might be a fight “just to keep it together.” Maybe we even feel too far gone. But
as these anointed songwriters tell us, “hope is never lost.”
In fact, let’s just determine to “hold on.” “Don’t let go.” Vivid-19 is not going to last
forever.
The song tells us to “just take one step closer, put one foot in front of the other.
We’ll get through this. We just need to “follow the light in the darkness.”
That’s the key, my friends. That’s the hope. Follow the Light.
You may recall that Jesus called Himself the “light of the world,” in John 8:12, in
the Bible. In this dark world, to follow Him is to push back the darkness. The
opposite of disease and death is life! In John 1:4 we’re told about Jesus, “In Him
was life; and the life was the light of people.”
To follow the Light is to follow Life. The opposite of death.
Let’s be people of Light right now! Let’s be the ones in the neighborhood who are
calm and at peace despite the storm around us.
Paul told us in the book of Philippians to “shine like stars in the universe.”
(Phil. 2:15. And by the way, Paul added that we will “shine like stars in the sky” as
we “hold firmly to the Word of life.” That’s Jesus,
I pray that during this tense time, you will begin, or grow, your relationship with
Christ. He is here. He is waiting. He invites us to spend time with Him. Get to
know His Holy Spirit. Be filled to overflowing with His Presence and His Power.
We might have more of an opportunity for this than ever before, right now.
More time at home. Fewer distractions.
Turn the TV off, and turn to Him. Will you do this? Just pray. Listen.
Read His Word. Play music that connects you to Him. Ask Him for more of His
Spirit. He will answer your prayer.
If you’re at home with children, find Christian videos to watch together. Read
Bible stories. Act them out! (And post them on our FB page or website or app.
We’d love to see them!)
This may be an unprecedented time for most of us, and yet it is also a unique
time for many things: more interaction electronically with more people; more
opportunity to take the time to actually meet and talk with neighbors; more time to
go outside and toss a football. I saw some of these things happening yesterday
as I was driving to the office to practice the FB live. It’s not usually something I
see very often. Neighbors talking with neighbors. Families taking time to play
outdoors together.
It’s hot right now in Florida and getting hotter this week.
Welcome Spring, but hello Summer! And hey, all of a sudden, we’re not even
minding this heat as much because we’re being told that covid-19 hates the heat!
So yeah. It’s a good time to live in Florida.
And in Florida we get a lot of light. Which also helps to combat depression.
So Follow the Light during this stressful time. Put, and keep putting, your eyes on
Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews told us to do this. (12:2) They struggled with persecution
and death as people were getting killed for their Christian faith. And yet this book
is all about Christ, and our faith, and how it is ultimately what everyone is
searching for.
Let’s be light during this darkness which points everyone towards the Light of the
World, Jesus the Christ.
Let’s follow the Light.
If you think about it, light is a major theme of the Bible.
It was the first thing God made. (“Let there be light.” Genesis 1:3)
It’s all over the Psalms: God actually turns darkness into light (18:28),
God is our light and salvation (27:1). In Psalm 36:9 we cry out with the Psalmist,
“For with You,” (O God), “is the fountain of life, in your light we see light.”
Don’t miss this. Our God is the very source of life. The opposite of death.
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, wants to continue to breathe His life into our
fears and our stress and our tension, and replace it with His Presence and His
peace.
The Hebrew word for “spirit” is “breath,” you know. “Ruach.” It also means life!
With You, O God, is the very presence of Life! Breath into us Holy Spirit, even
now! Fill us with Your Presence, once more, O Lord!
Take a deep breath right now. [In through your nose, out through your mouth.]
And do it again. Come on… let me see your shoulders move.
There. Doesn’t that feel good?!
This may be the first time you’ve done that in a while!
You’ve just burned off 10 calories, too. And released some endorphins, which are
natural anti-depressants. And now may you be refreshed and filled with God’s
very own Holy Spirit as well, as we continue to meditate on the importance of
following the Light.
In the book of Exodus, Moses and his people were told to follow the light.
Let’s look at Exodus 13:20-22; 14:19-20; and 13-14. (Yes that’s not in
chronological order, but that’s for a reason which you’ll shortly see.) Pray.
The tense, anxious, uneasy people of God followed the presence of the Lord
through a very scary time. They kept their eyes on the cloud by day and the fire
by night.
When it came to be “crunch time,” (walking through the sea), the presence of
God actually went around to the back of them to protect them from their enemy.
People! We serve a mighty and protective God!
If you haven’t already, read and re-read and proclaim Psalm 91 over yourselves,
your family and your home! Your business too if you’re still working right now.
Psalm 91 (from the NLT version) tells us that whoever lives in the shelter of the
Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty! We can cry out that He,
alone, is our refuge and our fortress! Our place of safety!
He is our God, in whom we trust.
He will rescue us from every trap.
He will protect us from deadly disease.
He will cover us with His feathers, and under His wings, just like a baby chick and
a mother hen, we will find shelter.
Safe, warm, loving shelter. As we “shelter in place,” let’s do some visual imagery
of ourselves under the wings of our loving Heavenly Father.
Trust in Him. Trust in His promises. This is our armor and our protection.
And don’t be afraid!
Make the Lord your refuge. Psalm 91:10 says that if we do this, “no plague will
come near your home.” And in fact, He’s ordering His angels even now, to
protect us wherever we go.
There’s more. Read it all for yourself. Please. Make it a prayer!
And remember Exodus 14:13,14 through it all. The Lord will fight for us, we just
need to be still.
So people of Light, let’s do this!
Let’s radiate His Presence. His peace. His calm. His faithfulness. His promises.
Let’s read His Word. Memorize some Scripture. (How’s it going for you with last
week’s homework assignments?)
Listen to worship music. Help your neighbors. Share your resources.
Let us know in this church if you are in need of anything, and we will help you.
We are all in this together. Though six feet apart. And from home. So let’s keep in
touch, and follow the Light! [Pray]