Apostles Church

This is a very difficult time for our economy and our nation, and there are even more difficult days ahead. Many in our city, and some of our own people at Apostles, face the reality or unemployment or threat of job loss. Some experts are saying for every job lost on Wall Street, 2-3 jobs will be lost throughout other sectors in our city. Today alone (September 29, 2008) the Dow fell 777 points and The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index recorded a paper loss of $1 trillion across the market for the day (report taken from Yahoo Finance). Many of us are feeling it personally. We are indeed in the midst of difficult times. When you add the recent natural disasters, the current war we are in, and volatile election season it seems that chaos is the order of the day. Yet, we have received a Kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28). Our faith gives us hope and allows us to love in the most trying of times. As your pastor, I don’t have a lot of financial advice to give you, but I do want to give you some words of encouragement.

Don’t be afraid. Some of the most repeated commandments that Jesus gives in the Gospels are “Fear not; don’t be afraid; take heart.” Why? Because Jesus’ very presence upon the earth is the revelation of God’s power, wisdom and love. When we see Christ, we see God incarnate, working powerfully, perfectly, and sacrificially to secure our greatest good at cost to himself. We see God incarnate, being crucified for us and, with all power and authority, rising from the dead for us. This is why the Apostle Paul can say, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Paul goes on to say that “nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-32, 39). In the midst of these crises, we must remember that our God reigns. He reigns in power, wisdom, and in love for his people. He is committed to working everything out for our good. He is not surprised by this or at a loss as to how to respond. He never sleeps nor slumbers and his eyes are always toward His people. Think, plan, pray, but do not fear.

Humble yourself and pray for mercy. It is in times like these that we remember we are not as strong as we thought we were. We are not as wise or secure as we would like to have believed. The Scriptures remind us over and over again of our weakness and limitations. We are but a vapor and are commanded not to put our confidence in ourselves or in others. God uses these times to turn us back to himself in humility, acknowledging Him as our only hope and confessing our need for his grace and help. The Psalms are so helpful during these times. One of last week's readings in the Daily Office of the Book of Common Prayer led me to Psalm 57. “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.” These storms will pass by, and in the midst of them we must humble ourselves by casting our cares upon him because we know he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). And we know that he will spare us from whatever will not ultimately serve to fulfill His benevolent purposes for us. So, quiet yourself with humble trust and look to him for mercy during these days.

Search your heart and repent where needed. I don't pretend to have all the answers as to why this crisis is happening, but one thing that is repeated over and over again as I listen to the experts is that this is the product of corporate greed and our own reckless desire to acquire. Consumer debt and foreclosures by home buyers who got a loan for more house than they could afford are key players in this crisis. The monoculture of luxury in which we live and our incessant failure to be happy with what we have seem to have been driving forces in all of this chaos. God has a record in the Scriptures of dealing with this kind of posture. He will often make his displeasure known by bringing consequences upon people and nations. A casual reading through the Minor Prophets shows us that God cares about our hearts and what preoccupies them and he will do anything to rid our hearts of what ultimately will ruin us. He is intent on drawing our attention away from the false gods of our day and turning our attention toward him to find life and peace. It is in times like these that God often speaks loudest to us about our desires and life direction. We must pause and search our hearts during this time and ask ourselves if greed and sinful discontent are charting our course. We must pause and remind ourselves that Jesus taught us life does not consist in possessions. God does not waste our pain and personal or national crises. He ordains them and orchestrates them to turn us to himself. Let me remind you that spiritual awakenings rarely happen in times of prosperity. Let's pray that God will use this trial to turn people's hearts, as well as our own, toward him and find in him security, life, purpose and peace.

Remember generosity. During times of financial crises it is natural to slip into the self-preservation mode. We have a responsibility to provide for ourselves and our families. But what makes Christ-followers different is that our hearts and lives are shaped by the One who renounced self-preservation for the sake of our salvation. He was rich, but became poor so we could be enriched by his sacrificial love. As the people of God, we are called to be a community of radical generosity and hospitality. It is the poor in our city that might suffer most through these days. But, these times will give us amazing opportunities to exercise the radical generosity of the Gospel by giving, not simply out of our surplus, but sacrificially out of our limited resources. We will have amazing opportunities to show the hospitality of God by opening up our homes to those who might lose theirs. God forbid we should think only of ourselves and fail to love our city and those who live in it. But, with the mind of Christ, we will consider others more important than ourselves and look not only to our interest, but to the interest of others (Philippians 2:4).

I am praying for our nation, our city, our Church, and for many of you by name who are feeling the impact of this up close. I ask you to join me in prayer.   “The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:10-11)

Pastor JR Vassar

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