Hello Dix Hills Church family-what a wild and crazy week we’ve had! Early in the week I was working on the next installment in our Joseph series-and now here I am recording a video message in my office! But to state the obvious-Coronavirus has arrived-and life has drastically changed over the past few days. Schools are getting cancelled, sports are cancelled, Broadway’s cancelled, concerts are cancelled, and you can’t even go to Disneyland. Jacob and I were discussing what sports ESPN has to show right now-and we thought maybe bowling and darts! But with no sports or activities going on-it’s time to get caught up on some reading. Dig into a good book! But I’m sure everyone’s tried going to the grocery store to stock up-and so you were either someone who came away with a cart overflowing with Purell hand-sanitizer and Clorox wipes and toilet paper-or an empty cart as the shelves were cleared out. But it’s an interesting time in our world. So we are not going to have church services this weekend-nor will we have any church activities or small group for the coming week. And we will then evaluate next week to make a decision about the following weekend. So we will keep you updated on that. However, we are not saying church is cancelled-because the church isn’t our building-it’s us. We are the church-and our faith isn’t cancelled. More than ever before, our faith needs to be displayed and put into action. I was watching a video clip from a church in PA-and I love what they said-We often say, the church isn’t a building, it’s the people. We don’t go to church; we are the church and we go to people in need. Church without walls. Perhaps it’s time to find out if that really works.
So now is the time to be the church without walls. And there’s a couple of ways to do that. On the email we sent out as a church, we listed some ways to serve and bless the people around you. For example, that means being willing to go out and do the grocery shopping for somebody-particularly the elderly. Fight those crowds for them! Or help a family out by watching or babysitting their kids-especially if school gets cancelled-and mom and dad have to be at work. Find out about the needs around you-and seek to be a picture of Christ.
Additionally, since church worship service at our building on Foxhurst Rd is cancelled-you and your family can worship together at home on Sunday morning-or whenever you want to. I encourage you to open up your Bibles, read God’s Word, pray together, sing together-and even though our small groups are cancelled-you and your family can be a small group. So we’ve included some discussion questions on our website and church app. Take time to talk about them together.
In thinking about a great passage to look at, Philippians 4 came to mind this week. As we said, our world is a little crazy right now-uncertainty and fear surrounds us. It seems like every time we turn on the news there’s new developments and more cases of Coronovirus. What are we to think? How are we to process it all? So I think more than ever-Phil 4:4 is so crucial. If you’re like me it’s awfully tempting to say-Well, that was easy for a guy like Paul who was super-spiritual and focused-but for me it’s hard to rejoice, especially when there’s all these challenges and difficulties in my life. Hard to rejoice when our world is in chaos and the uncertainty about our health runs rampant. And that’s very true-it’s true of our world and there might be lots of difficulties in your own life, stressful circumstances you’re going through,-but remember where Paul’s at as he’s writing these verses-prison! He’s under Roman guard, watched over day and night. He can’t go anywhere, he doesn’t have any freedom, and has no idea what the outcome will be. He’s praying to be released but he has no idea if or when that will ever happen. So talk about difficult and challenging circumstances! The horizon looks bleak for Paul-at least from an earthly perspective-but what Paul is saying is from an eternal perspective-v. 4. And of course we know that rejoicing is completely possible because the origin of that joy is found in the Lord. Paul didn’t say rejoice because things are looking up. He didn’t say rejoice because you got a big promotion or rejoice because your family is doing well and life is good. He’s saying rejoice in the Lord-period. That you and I can rejoice, we can be filled with thanksgiving because our joy isn’t tied to our circumstances or the uncertain state of our world-instead our joy is centered on the unbreakable, unchanging relationship we have with Christ. Knowing Him and remembering that nothing in all the universe can separate us from Him brings an unending depth of joy.
Remember Jesus words-John 15:9-11. Not halfway or partly or joyful at Christmas time and other major holidays-but a fullness of joy continuously, daily, throughout our lives no matter what may happen. If there’s one thing Jesus wants us to understand it’s that! So look back at v. 4-and I want you to underline that word always. You see the command to rejoice-and that’s what this is-a command for you and me. We think of biblical commands like do not lie, do not murder, do not steal. But this is equally a command. The verse doesn’t say-rejoice if you feel like it, if you’re so inclined and having a good day you should consider rejoicing-it says rejoice always-it’s all-inclusive which means even in the midst of conflict, adversity and struggles. Let me just ask you the question-how often is your joy dictated by your circumstances? Now more than ever-let your joy, let your willingness to rejoice not be bound by circumstances or the state of the world-but let it be centered on the Lord who made this world and is fully and completely in control-not matter how much it might seem to be spiralling into chaos.
Listen to how it goes on-v. 5-7. Again I want you to underline that last all-inclusive word all. It’s just a short, three-letter word but it’s so powerful and expansive. Because we have a God who is near and at hand, a God perfectly knows what He’s doing, a God who loves us unconditionally and has wonderfully provided everything we need for this life and for all of eternity-we can have peace. And not just any old peace-but a peace that surpasses all understanding. That’s what this verse is saying. Way too often we define peace by our feelings or circumstances-just like how we define our ability to rejoice. We say-my life is peaceful because everything is going well and working out just like I planned. Because all is good-I’m at peace. But this verse is undercutting that thinking saying that we can be filled with the peace of God even when our lives are a chaotic mess. It’s saying that we can be filled with peace even when unexpected things are happening, when stuff is going on beyond our control, when we feel uncertain, confused or even frustrated because it’s a peace that surpasses all understanding. Meaning that you and I don’t have to understand why these things are happening in order to feel God’s peace. But that’s often how we operate. Lord, if I can just understand why this is going on in my life, if you will explain to me so that I can see the bigger picture then I’ll be at peace and trust you. But what this verse is telling us is that even when you don’t understand what’s happening you can be filled with peace because you have a God who does understand. You have a God who has provided you with everything you need for this life and for all of eternity. You have a God who has lavished His grace on you, forgiven all your sins, saved you and transformed you into someone new, and adopted you into His family with a incredible future in store. You have a God who has not even withheld His own Son-but sent Him to this earth to die for you so that you could live. And there is nothing in this world-no struggles, no challenges, no hurts or fears or virus’s-that can ever change that fact. Because of who you are in Christ you can be filled with a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace that surpasses all your doubt and fears and worries because it’s a peace grounded in the person of Christ-John 14:27 NIV.
Who’s afraid of flying? Probably right now we all are! But who doesn’t like airline travel? So you have two options-one is to not fly and avoid it altogether-take the Greyhound bus or drive instead. But the other option if you’re afraid of flying would be as you board the plane to head to the cockpit and talk with the pilot about the aircraft. You could say to him-I want to understand everything about this plane, how the controls work, the landing gear, the engines. I want to know it all, even be able to perform an emergency landing. I want to understand how to fly this plane before I’ll rest peacefully on the flight. But of course no one does that. We get on the plane, take our seat, and usually lean back and take a peaceful nap without understanding anything about flying a plane. And that’s because we trust that the pilot does. On a plane our peace isn’t dictated by our understanding, it’s dictated by our trust. And it shouldn’t be any different with the Lord. Our peace can surpass all our understanding because He’s our good pilot and we can trust that He knows exactly where He’s taking us!
Stay safe! Reach and out be a blessing to others. Rejoice always. Be filled with the Lord’s peace!
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