Pastoral Care in Times of Crisis

Coming up next on Renewing Your Mind. Too often we we worry and we fret and we are scared and we don't stop to pray we don't stop to say Lord please help me not to be anxious for anything in Lord, please help me not to worry about tomorrow, but to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness will if there's ever been a time to close in on our Savior's command and not be anxious now welcome you Renewing Your Mind on this Monday. I'm we want to assure you that we are as committed as ever to bringing you this program every day. We want to be a source of encouragement and hope. With that in mind we want to share with you a conversation with the new president Chris Larson and Drs. Sinclair Ferguson, Parsons and HP Charles Junior took place during the special online conference recently called made in the image of God.

What are some words of comfort with which we can fight fear and anxiety. This is a time for us to prove in our own lives. The gospel that we've always professed to believe on in the passage that probably is best known to most true Christians in which Jesus gives us teaching about living the Christian life and the sound on the Mount. He is a whole section there where she underscores follows that the knowledge of God as our loving, caring heavenly father delivers us from two things. One is hypocrisy that we no longer need to attend to him to be something that when not. We no longer need to pretend to anyone else.

Let me something remote, but the other thing Jesus underscores is the knowledge of God is our heavenly father delivers us from anxiety because we know that no matter what happens on lights on in his hands so find ourselves as Christian believers. I think this is what Christmas much else in Scripture on Christmas. I think this experience follows, which is paralleled for Christians in the past and in various seasons, but as for most of us unparalleled is a challenge to us as to whether we really believe the gospel. We have said we believe that we trust in the heavenly father actually for that we really know him as a caring father. But these things being in place. It's this Anke. This is one of the anchors that enables us to minister to others. As Paul says we are able to comfort others with the comfort we ourselves received from Christ, Pastor Charles how if you been leading your congregation in this time. Yeah, I would just tack on to what Sinclair said by just noting Philippians 4, six and seven, where Paul says what Jesus says in Matthew six do not be anxious, gives a very clear direct simple strategy for overcoming the anxieties and worries and fears of life and that answers prayer, and so it's important during this period that the saints are just stepping up their devotion to spiritual disciplines being in his word and communing with God in prayer business to take everything off of our worry list and put it all on our prayer list. He literally says that there's nothing that happens in life that is worth worrying about but everything is worth praying about. There's nothing too small forgot to care about nothing to be forgot to handle one of the notes of commands to praise that there many times promises attached to these commands. I think Philippians 4 mean so much to me because of the promise attached the promise attached does not bid that God will change circumstances, even though he is able to follow St. Ephesians 3 to do that to do beyond we could ask or think. He says if we give all of the matters we are tempted to worry about God in prayer.

God will give us peace that surpasses all understanding. The guard our hearts and minds so much divine intervention, the circumstances, it's divine insulation for hearts and minds so that when not living lives dominated by worry, doubt and fear and of course a disappointing season. We have limited means to have contact with our congregation, but in every opportunity that I have them just him encouraging the saints pray to the God hears and knows and cares to good word HP we were talking earlier about measures were both taking striving to put in place along with the other elders in our churches and worship services and all the midweek activities and events being canceled for the time being.

This is a complicated matter and when it comes to anxieties and worries and cares. The Bible tells us doesn't just suggested to us, but tells us to cast our cares upon the Lord because he cares for us. So the Bible is allowing for the reality that we do have cares, and that various concerns and anxieties will indeed bubble up in our lives and we all know people in our lives. Friends and family who are certainly more or less given to anxiety given to great concern and worry.

This is complicated because you have people that are concerned not only about contracting this virus people are concerned about spreading this virus transmitting it to others are concerned about their loved ones who are either older or those who are high risk individuals concerned about their children who have problems with their breathing. Her lungs, and so on. A lot of people who weren't concerned maybe two or three weeks ago about the impact of the virus are very concerned about the economic and financial impact not only to their company's organization schools and so on. But to their own savings and retirements there. People who worry that they're not can have enough money to continue living to have the things that they have worked all their lives for. And so the question that we need to ask and I think one of the things that we need to make sure that we are understanding and and striving to serve people with is the reality of the worries, the reality of the anxieties. The reality of those fears and then the question will not do.

We have them because we all have concerns about tomorrow and about the future.

The question is what we do with those worries would we do with those fears. What we do with those anxieties in our lives. In the question that we need to answer for ourselves and as we strive to lead our friends and our families and our churches is that we don't run to the answers that the world gives us or even answers that are own flesh might give us that we run the Lord with our worries. We go to him with our anxieties. Too often we we worry and we fret and we are scared and we don't stop to pray we don't stop to say Lord please help me not to be anxious for anything in Lord, please help me not to worry about tomorrow, but to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness. You know that that passage where we are told, cast all your cares upon the Lord, for he cares for you. I think sometimes we read that there we've memorized that we've heard it and I think sometimes we we think that means that we should try to take care of everything in our lives and handle everything, and only one certain things get out of control or only when we recognize certain things in our lives, we can't really control we can't really get a hold of those of the things and only those things that we go to the Lord with but we need to always be about the regular pursuit of casting all our cares upon the Lord, and the reason is because he cares for us, cares for us, far beyond we could even care for ourselves. That something I try to remind my children of regularly as hard as it is, that although I love them. I care for them that their heavenly father cares for them for more than I ever could. That's hard for me to admit that that's the truth. Thank you, when we think about these moments where suffering seems to have been sprung upon us and it seems to hit us out of the blue and how should Christians respond to times of suffering, RC has the book surprised by suffering he deliver those messages at the MD Anderson center in Houston Texas many years ago and people have been just given a severe diagnosis of cancer, or perhaps now more startling diagnosis of this coven 19 virus or in innumerable illnesses.

First of all, is suffering something that we should run from, and then if not, how should we respond well to a Burke sentiment on the layers I think to be on social forces we do and thankfully able to develop means of alleviating human suffering.

Salon nations are putting foster resources into trying to find an antidote muscle to develop appropriate it's altogether Christlike.

She sought to alleviate suffering. We also know that she didn't alleviate everybody suffering on so there's I say there's a complexity to the way in which God works is beyond us, but it is appropriate that we take means to alleviate suffering. I don't just say God sent him, God will get rid of. We don't respond to anything in our lives with a kind of foolish simplicity. The second thing to say is that from a biblical point of view, all suffering that we experience explosives one of frailty to the needs of God's three the sinfulness of human condition on foreground need for repentance on think of for example what Jesus says people common in Luke 17 of people, and say what about these people pilot slot will be worse than others.

I'm sure this is the question what some people will ask all those on whom the tower fell the application Jesus makes is not to say to others try and work out who is responsible for this, but this is actually a call to repentance unsightly the pattern all the way through Scripture all this kind of a friend in the nation are not on the face of my is that listening to it coded into the language.

All this cosmic affliction really forms is we do need to repent and I actually think you know, in the midst of all the suffering the greatest truthfulness in the last fiscal.

But we will ship.call when some interesting custom 9/11 as fun as I could tell from a distance with churches were filled with people expressing the sense of dissipative value very quickly on so I think the call for the churches, but that will really be a genuine spirit of repentance born in Los Altos with a recognition that we thought we were masters of the universe.

I'm here some invisible infinitesimal something as master the moment and could use the sphere that's that's such a cloudy and cold to extra time to the law. General people may say can never be the same again after the sun will the dangerous will be exactly the same. So I think with the notebook struck clear which I think I was reflecting on the plate at the time and controls prophecy that was locusts but the whole pension balers. This is a summons to to repent to come back to the law on this interesting it's it's exactly in this role that we get this great promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which must've had on application to the people in his time as a clearly significant application of the day of Pentecost. So we seek to relieve suffering. Pray for a baptism of repentance and we look to the Lord to send his Holy Spirit to bring confession and awakening on the cycle in the trunk, God's people rejoice together on the Lord's day, our Puritan forefathers would call it the market day of the soul.

And today it seems we can go to the market to get our groceries or we cannot come to feast upon God's word. As we gather together in corporate worship.

What should we do about the Lord's day and what guidance should we give to God's people will as you mention where just in the midst of coming here were in the midst of making plans and going home still working through plans here in the question. It just breaks my heart. The reality just ask my heart.

I am woke up this morning with Philippians 1 and three pulsing. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you when I fill that longing and yearning for the people of the church. The goddess may be a part of. And just as a pastor Caria heavy heart of burden and concern where not able to meet together but I hope that those who call Shiloh church home field@Bard there is a mark of genuine conversion. I think revealed in it. We are talking among our elders and our our staff about just what it means to be the church when you can in the macular the tradition I grew up in how to be the church when you came half church you know not able to hold our meetings.

What is it mean for us to be the church makes me also grateful for technology. I've been rejoicing for some of the things that I would complain about related to technology now thankful for because it is the means by which we are able to primarily have contact in connection with the saints in our church and we are trying to be good stewards of it and take advantage of every opportunity to connect through those main so we are streaming service, we will not be meeting but we will be streaming service on the Lord's day. We have small groups and were trying through conference calls. Make sure that the sites in those settings are still connecting to each other through the study of God's word and prayer.

All of our pastors and staff. I said this week. All of us have a new job description kind of primary follow the suggest pastoral care and just checking on the saints, we have many senior members in our church in a priority for us is just check on them to see that all is well with them and if there's any way we can be of service to them, but for the replacement of our corporate meetings. We are trying to be good stewards and take advantage of the technology that we have and we just encouraging the human connection by whatever means we have two mutually care for one another. I would hope that every man who is training for pastoral ministry and every man who is in seminary or even those who are in ministry would be able to hear not just what you said HB, but in some way.

More importantly, how you said it ominous. My older brother in the faith in your example to me and to many because your true pastor and and perhaps this goes without saying but just hearing the tone in which you addressed this question we all got to hear the heart of a pastor, not just a puppeteer, not just a preacher, but as it is a shepherd and that's that's something that is so often missing in our day, particularly among men that are known for their preaching ministry. People don't often hear this heart of the true shepherd and that is what we most desperately need and have desperately needed it for some time because too often we have made so much of the charisma and the communication abilities and force the look and everything else that goes with the preaching ministry. We know that preaching is one aspect of what pastors do is one aspect of what shepherds do, but but were not in the Bible, called funnily preachers were fundamentally pastors are shepherds who preach and one things that we both have in common between our churches is that we are doing all things in accordance with the plurality of the elders.

Right now there is mitigation going back and forth with our pastors and our elders talking about the communication that's going to come out.

Lord willing out tomorrow to our congregation and I think it's vital that we remember the importance of the plurality of elders that God has appointed to his church and to seek that wisdom and discernment among a multitude of the counselors at God's appointed that we strive even as we are talking that thankfully there is unanimity that there is a unity of mind that we are striving for so that we are making decisions together and so this is a time for us to rely upon the government of the church that God has given to us of the elders and the importance of of the deacons in the work that they are doing in the church and in the course in the community, but HB. Thank you for reminding us of the care that we need to be taking as we strive to carefully shepherd the congregation, even as they are distributed broadly throughout our communities hearing that just as a reminder for us as well to just be prayerful for pastors in small churches in rural places where even just what were talking about streaming stuff is something we take for granted that is still an issue for them and they don't have that take the granite. Some of the resources and they are going to have to find strategic ways.

In the midst of this to be with their people to care for the people to serve the people to just just need our prayers. How can Christians one or two ways live as lights in the midst of this dark moment. That certainly the unbelievers are experiencing therein here panic and their terrified.

How can Christians live and what should we be doing which of the words beyond our mouth as we come across others who do not know the Lord.

Chris I was thinking when you are quoting Luther. You know how often I have punctually sung us and while this world with viruses filled and threatening to undo us on illicitly sung muscle often on this is a time which presses us to believe that these things are true and to lift them on my observation, as we've all got different resources in order to solve the people around us. We got different gifts and doing about know there are some people who know exactly what to do and then go to people like me to say is that I nothing I can do and we need to help one about a month but it seems to me the absolutely fundamental thing is who we are and what we do.

Oddly enough the world. These verses in the New Testament, but Christians having peace because we have a God of peace and I think it's those things but in terms of the impact of Christian witness will most tell inwardly we are on our knees before them and they know that we proclaim Christ as Lord but were saying we are your sentence for Jesus spake and that it begins to make sense to them when they see the connectedness between the gospel, but we may have spoken to them and the dispositions that we know how but we listen.

Trust in the loggia.

We have our anxieties but we were able to cast those anxieties on the Lord, but we have our needs but that the gospel is given us qualities on peace and that's not something that we put on. We don't click on the light in order to be lights to the world we are the light of the world, we have peace with God. I think we must have confidence in the Spirit's ministry to use what God has done in our lives to speak through the service that Miranda to the people who are going to punch us, especially those who most living out what we believe in the gospel and as you said Dr. Ferguson.

That means living with a certain piece. This is a time I think for Christians to really show forth the calm that we can have that we take proper precautions, but we don't overreact that we are able to live out true. The fruit of the spirit with a calmness and a steadfastness. I know that there are many people who think that many people are making too much about all this, and there are others who think that people are making enough about it. They're not doing enough are saying and often that is been one of the most difficult things in striving to serve people well and teach people and shepherd people through this because you have people at different ends of the spectrum, and all throughout it, even among us here today. I'm sure their people were very worried and people who are not worried much at all. I think this is a time that all of us, particularly mothers and fathers and grandparents where the devil is going to try to divide homes and tried to bring division and try to bring unnecessary disagreements in the home and in marriages in the church. This is a time for us to really strive to serve one another. Well, as we tried to lead where we can in helping people to show grace to each other to show tremendous amount of freedom.

That's we we be meeting this week as a staff at the church and talk about how we really want to strive always to doctors during this time, but always to give grace and freedom and help people wherever we can. But just one last thing Chris I do talk with a number of people who are simply asking the question, what are we gonna be through this one or we can be done with this one is this crisis can be over one of the markets gonna come back when is the economy going to begin to come back and I the answer to that is of course none of us really knows completely, but too often we are treating this trial like we treat our own trials in life were just trying to get through the minister to muscle our way through them when often the purpose of trials and the purpose of difficulties and hardships in our lives.

The purpose of suffering is not just a muscle our way through them and to get through the by grinding her teeth and Morgan are working to get through it. It's to humble ourselves is Dr. Ferguson missing at the time to investigate her own hearts and asked the Lord to examine us in Norway's it's a time for us to stop and pause and see if there's any. It's a time for us to really focus our lives in the Lord and to take a theology series. We are thankful for this pastoral perspective. Today here on Renewing Your Mind.

The last voice you heard there was that of leader teaching fellow, Dr. Burk Parsons joining him on the set for this online conference was another leader, teaching fellow, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson along with Rev. HP Charles Junior and our moderator was our president and CEO Chris Morrison. If you are feeling anxious if you're feeling fearful and you're wondering about God's plan and all of this. We encourage you to get in touch with your pastor, God has provided us with shepherds to comfort and guide us in times just like these. We also want to be there for you and our desire is your religion or ministries is to come alongside the local church to undergird the church with resources that we have made available resources like the program and the message that we heard today. And with that in mind, I want to mention to you that Brig. has made our entire library of teaching series available for free streaming online during this unique time in world history, digging into God's word leaning on it relying on it. It's a strong antidote to the worry and anxiety that can so easily grip us so begin exploring the library when you go to legionnaire.org you'll find a search block up in the upper right which will allow you to search for various themes and their theological issues all week.

We are airing messages from this recent online conference in tomorrow we will hear from our chairman, Dr. W.

Robert Godfrey as he helps us see how being made in the image of God shapes our view, the present crisis. We hope you'll join us Tuesday for another edition of Renewing Your Mind