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10 Things the
Church Must Do in Response to the Coronavirus
Joseph Mattera
In
all my years I have never seen this kind of panic related to the potential
spread of an illness.
The
kind of panic and fear I observe regularly on the faces of the public almost
rivals what I observed when I was in Manhattan after the Twin Towers were
toppled and the Pentagon attacked on Sept. 11, 2001!
As
always, I try to ponder how the church should respond during these experiences.
The
following are 10 things the church must do during this present global
situation:
· Discern between political hyperbole and reality.
I
am amazed with how opportunistic so many political leaders are during this
crisis! Unfortunately, the media usually garners followers by sensationalizing
everything that happens so as to drive traffic toward their platform (to
acquire more advertising sponsors).
The
church has to learn to see beyond groupthink, politics and media, and discern
the difference between hype and reality.
· Teach public and private health.
The
church has an obligation to post relative information related to public health
measures that must be practiced to curtail the spread of the virus.
Since
the body of Christ has consistent, weekly gatherings, it is a matter of
stewardship that we cooperate with reasonable guidelines disseminated by public
health and city officials.
· Pray for the opportunity to share the gospel with
people afraid of dying.
This
is an amazing opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus! Jesus has already
destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (See 2 Timothy 1:10.)
Times
like these confront humanity with their own mortality and force them to think
about eternity.
True
Christ followers should have no fear of death; consequently, everyone we meet
walking in fear should be a candidate to hear the gospel during these days.
· Earnestly fast and pray for a global spiritual
awakening.
The
whole world, with its vast scientific, technological advances and burgeoning
affluence, is being confronted with their frailty and fragility.
They
continually find out that there are many things that are beyond their control!
I
believe the time is ripe for a global "Great Awakening," as the pride
of humanity is being brought low and masses of people are being unsettled by
this virus and other huge challenges.
· Pray for our nation's leaders.
One
of the primary things all churches should do when they gather is pray for our
political leaders (see 2 Timothy 2:1-4).
The
potential problems associated with a pandemic are way beyond the scope of their
learning and expertise.
The
present issues related to public health are negatively affecting global travel,
the stock market, numerous businesses and national security.
In
light of all this, it is very difficult to plan for adequate contingencies.
Now,
more than ever, the body of Christ needs to intercede for leaders and believe
that God will grant them a spirit of humility, cooperation (instead of political
competition) and wisdom as they interface with experts in the fields of health,
national security, commerce and international relations.
· Care for vulnerable church members.
The
Bible makes it clear that the church is called to do good to all men — but especially
to the household of faith (see Galatians
6:10).
We
especially need to look out for older and disabled church members who do not
have the adequate resources from family members to get by.
We
also have to make sure they have adequate food and hygienic supplies if panic
shopping precludes their ability to purchase these necessities.
· Look for ways to love our neighbor.
In
every community there are vulnerable people. During a panic, the population
goes into survival mode and its default position is "every man is for
himself."
We
need to look out for ways to behave differently from the world in this present
distress.
Part
of how we can do this is by making sure the elderly, disabled and other groups
of vulnerable people have all they need regarding food, toiletries and care.
In
the midst of this atmosphere, believers can shine like bright lights to the
world (see Philippians 2:15) as they put others before themselves and mimic the
attitude of the Lord Jesus (see Philippians
2:4-12).
· Proactively learn preventative health, not only divine
healing.
I
rarely get sick — even if I am around people who have the flu and other
contagious ailments.
In
36 plus years of overseeing a local church, I have never missed a Sunday
service because of a sickness.
This
is because — as a matter of godly stewardship — I have taken the time to study
nutrition, get enough sleep, exercise regularly and practice regular fasting.
Most
of the deaths from the coronavirus are among those who already had underlying
health issues, whose immune system was already compromised.
Consequently,
the average person who is constantly eating processed food, snacking in between
their (many) meals, as well as eating late at night, will compromise their
immune system.
This
is because much of our body's energy is going toward digesting food; hence, if
your body's energy is depleted, it doesn't have enough in the tank to restore
itself and focus on fighting off sickness and disease.
Also,
if you are consuming a lot of animal-based products and processed food, it
takes a huge toll on your body, since these are difficult to digest (which
leads to inflammation, which is the root cause of cancer, arthritis and other
serious maladies).
The
plant-based diet of Genesis 1:29 is actually the "species specific"
diet God granted to human beings.
Thankfully,
more and more scientific studies are confirming the amazing health benefits of
this diet. (Out of the numerous studies there are now some compelling
documentaries, such as The Game Changers on Netflix, Fork Over Knives, as well
as countless others (Dr. Jason Fung is known as a health expert on the benefits
of water fasting and there are numerous videos of his teaching on YouTube).
Consequently,
I only eat two to three meals per day, with no eating in between meals, and I
fast about 15-20 hours most days.
I
have enough energy to keep a demanding schedule while participating in rigorous
physical training.
This
discipline related to my biological health enables me to frequently travel,
write, preach, pray and spend quality time with my family in spite of the fact
that I am over 60 years old.
Also,
if a person wants to take further precaution before traveling and going into a
public space, taking strong probiotics first thing in the morning and having
adequate doses of Vitamin C may aid in immunity enhancement.
Unfortunately,
many believers think they can violate natural law and live recklessly because
they can pray for divine healing.
However,
the same God who said "I am the Lord who heals you" (Exodus 15:26) is
the same God who gave us species specific guidelines related to diet (Genesis 1:29).
Although
I am a huge proponent of divine healing, I also believe it is a matter of
stewardship to do our part in caring for our physical health.
· Stay on top of current events.
The
church is called to function on the leading edge of proactive prophetic action
as well as rapid response.
In
order to function this way, we need to operate similar to the "sons of
Issachar," who were men who understood the times and knew what Israel
should do (see 1 Chronicles 12:32).
Consequently,
every believer has to be regularly informed regarding current events and be
mobilized to serve in the workplace, not just within church buildings.
· Fear not!
With
the nonstop panic being generated by incessant media hype related to the spread
of the coronavirus, the general populace is engulfed with a spirit of fear.
This
is an opportune time for Christ followers to arise and be the exemplars who
operate in faith and wisdom instead of fear.
How
can we do this? Is it because believers embrace a form of fideism or mysticism,
or is our faith rooted in reality?
Scripture
makes it clear that we are to "fear not" and that God has not given
us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind (see Isaiah 41:10 and 2 Timothy 1:7).
This
is because believers are rooted and grounded in the God of creation who alone
should be their trust, fortress and foundation of faith.
Hence,
since we are grounded in the One who created the cosmos, we are commanded to
fear not, even when the earth is quaking and unstable (see Psalm 46).
Moreover,
because Jesus conquered death through His resurrection and has the keys of hell
and death, He also tells His followers to "fear not"! (See Revelation 1:17-18).
In
conclusion, Christ followers are not to fear what the world fears (see Jeremiah 10:2)
and are not to be conformed to this world system (Romans 12:1-2).
Whenever
a global crisis breaks out, the church is called to discern the times, know
what to do, and function as the salt of the earth and light of the world.
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Dr. Joseph Mattera is
an internationally-known author, consultant, and theologian whose mission is to
influence leaders who influence culture. He is the founding pastor of
Resurrection Church, and leads several organizations, including The U.S.
Coalition of Apostolic Leaders and Christ Covenant Coalition. Dr. Mattera is
the author of 12 bestselling books, including his latest “The Jesus
Principles,” and is renown for applying Scripture to contemporary culture. To
order his books or to join the many thousands who subscribe to his newsletter
go to www.josephmattera.org.
https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/the-pulse/80276-10-things-the-church-must-do-in-response-to-the-coronavirus
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