Under the Influence of Experts | Sunday, April 19, 2020

Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you. (Deuteronomy 1:13)

When the data of experts comes flying at us, true wisdom is still found in the fear of the Lord.

Crazy Times and Holy Laughter

For the last six weeks we have all been hunkered down and hiding out as a nation, and things are very similar in other parts of the world. The goal here in America has been to flatten the curve, and while I think we're all hopeful that we're accomplishing it, one thing is certain: the curves of Americans are not getting any flatter. We're making America curvy again.

I've come to treat the coronavirus shutdown as something like Christmas season 2.0—and one San Diego radio station apparently agreed, because I got in my car the other day and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" was playing. It's one thing to have Christmas in July, but I'm not down with Christmas in April. As I told my wife, this is both surreal and bizarre. One of the ways we deal with stressful circumstances is laughter, and I hope you've been able to find some in the midst of everything we're facing.

A Word of Encouragement: God Is at Work

I shared two weeks ago a message from Philippians chapter 1, where the Apostle Paul—under lockdown, under house arrest; can you relate?—wrote that his difficult circumstances had turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12-14)

What we are going through as a world is doing exactly what Paul described 2,000 years ago. That might not feel like a big encouragement if you've recently lost your job and you're worried about bills, but consider this: research run with churches nationwide and worldwide, ours included, shows that church growth spiked by 300% in the last month. Forty-nine percent of churches studied are growing right now. Rather than turning people away from God, this situation appears to have turned people toward Him. Google searches for prayer, church, God, and church online have spiked significantly. The free system we use to broadcast, Live Life in Connection, jumped from 5,000 churches a week to more than 20,000.

The Church Was Stuck—And Got Pushed Out

Some of Jesus's last words before He ascended were these: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The mission of Jesus was a global mission from the very start.

But as so often is the case, Jesus's followers didn't fully obey, and by Acts chapter 8 the church is largely still stuck in Jerusalem. It's only a few page turns from Acts 1, but many Bible teachers believe at least five years had passed—and the church was stuck back on the one-yard line. What got them moving?

Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1)

It took persecution to push them out. I bring this up because I think the church in America—and really all of the Western world—has been stuck. The early church used a great technological advance of their time, the Roman roads, to move the gospel forward. In our time we have the greatest technological advance in history: worldwide communication on the internet. Last year a lot of churches were still doing church only inside the four walls of their building. In much the same way persecution pushed the early church into mission, this pandemic has pressed the church online, where we probably should have been all along. That's a really good thing, and we're seeing great fruit—people who gave up on their faith returning, skeptics considering Scripture, and people in other countries following the messages we put out every week. This is an awakening, and maybe, just maybe, it could become a Great Awakening. God is the God who brings order out of chaos, and He is doing exactly that.

Back to Deuteronomy—and a Caution About Politics

Before the coronavirus, we had been studying through Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible. Over the last four Sundays I've taken a brief detour to address topics appropriate for this time, but it's time to get back to Deuteronomy. What's fascinating—and I'm surprised it escaped me in all the chaos—is that the messages I preached from Deuteronomy before coronavirus are remarkably applicable to what we're going through now. It's almost uncanny, as if some invisible power was helping direct it.

I don't typically like to mention political things at our church, because virtually every time I do, I'm completely misunderstood. In our cultural moment, politics is more divisive than religion—more of a dividing line than race, creed, culture, gender, or sports team affiliation. Americans are discipled by political pundits and cable news anchors for hours every night. I can't compete with that; you only get me for forty minutes a week.

Because of all this, if I even make a reference that seems political, you'll hear it the way cable news has conditioned you to hear it. If I say, as I did last week, "I'm not sure I fully agree with the path our leaders have chosen," one channel will convince you I'm against the president and another that I'm for him. I honestly can't win. So understand: everything I'm about to say I taught weeks ago, before any of us heard "social distancing" or "flatten the curve." You'll be tempted to assume I'm speaking against your team—every one of us has a team—but you'll only conclude that if you think I'm an ill-willed person. If you attended cross connection church before all this, you know I'm not.

Two Magnetic Pulls and an Ideological Virus

We are going to be challenged in the coming weeks and months, and not only by the coronavirus. We're going to be challenged by another virus—more virulent, an ideological, thought-virus planted in our minds and hearts by our culture. There's a massive magnetic pull in two directions. One says we need to be cautious because the virus is dangerous and deadly—and from everything we can tell, that's absolutely true. The other says we can't stay inside forever, we need to go back to work, and the economy can't function like this indefinitely—and that's true too.

There are experts on both sides. Some will say it's dangerous and you'll be putting lives at risk, and that may be true. Others will say we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. There are experts on both sides of these conversations, and I want to talk about experts from Deuteronomy chapter 1.

We Need Wise, Understanding, Knowledgeable Leaders

I don't have a lot of points today; my message is almost pointless, but not entirely. Deuteronomy 1, which I taught through eight weeks ago in a message called "Wise, Understanding, and Knowledgeable," teaches us that we are in desperate need of wise, understanding, and knowledgeable leaders.

Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you. (Deuteronomy 1:13)

Thirty-four hundred years ago, Israel was preparing to take the promised land and establish a nation, and they needed—as we need today—wise, understanding, knowledgeable leaders. Just as with them, it is our job to choose leaders. Whatever side of the aisle you sit on, the leaders we have at local, state, and national level are leaders we chose. Most of the time, when things are stable, we can get away with leaders who are merely average in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. It's only in unstable and chaotic times that any ineptitude comes to the surface.

Right there, some of you just got tweaked—tempted to think I'm talking about your team. That feeling surfaces only because you're already concerned your team is being inept. Let me be clear: everyone's ineptitude is evident right now. No one saw this coming. Leaders responded quickly according to the information available to them in the moment, and that's how a crisis works. I saw this after 9/11 and when I worked with the Red Cross through the San Diego fires in 2003 and 2007. Things are chaotic at the start, then they level out and we see more clearly. Anyone pointing at the other team and saying it's all their fault is looking at this opportunistically, and I'm always suspicious of opportunism in the midst of crisis.

Leaders, Experts, Commentators, and Critics

We need leaders who have knowledge, the ability to interpret that knowledge—that's understanding—and the wisdom to know how to act in light of that interpretation. A society like ours requires more than leaders, though. We also have commentators, critics, and experts on the sidelines. Recognize what that means: leaders have a responsibility to lead, experts speak to give them knowledge, and commentators and critics comment and critique the process. That's all well and good if their objectives and agendas are aligned—but we are so politically divided that we're in a challenging situation, one which requires a lot of wisdom and prayer.

The Twelve Experts and the Bad Report

Israel had a problem too, something we covered in Deuteronomy 1 five weeks ago. There were twelve individuals who were the only experts on the promised land in all of Israel. They had spent forty days spying it out, then returned to give their report. We read the fuller account in Numbers 13:26-33.

Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel... and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey... Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there...." And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants... There we saw the giants... and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

Nothing the spies said was wrong. They gave a full report of the promised land, and the data was true. They were more knowledgeable about that land than anyone else—they were the experts. But the knowledge of experts must be balanced with wisdom, understanding, and faith. That is the challenge as we move forward. There is a big land with lots of pitfalls and battles ahead, and we're going to need knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and trust in God.

An Invitation to Trust in God

Some of you watching right now have been bombarded by the data of experts, and you're afraid. There are giants in the land—or rather, a microscopic virus, and we need to flatten the curve. You've gained knowledge about masks, ventilators, and epidemiology, but you may be lacking wisdom, understanding, and faith. Perhaps it's all that data flying at you that has pushed you to seek them.

Having studied the Scriptures for more than twenty years, I can tell you that wisdom and understanding are constantly connected to trust in God, the fear of God, and the Spirit of God.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. (Psalm 111:10)

I invite you this morning to put your faith and trust in God—to lean not on your own understanding but to trust in Him. Jesus promised that those who come to Him and learn from Him will find rest for their souls. It's quite possible your soul, your mind, and your heart have been restless in the midst of all this. Receiving the salvation of Jesus is as simple as A, B, C: A, you admit you are a sinner; B, you believe Jesus died on the cross in your place for your sins; C, you confess your sins to God and ask Him to come into your heart.

If you'd like to do that, pray with me right where you are: Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I pray that You would come into my life, that You would forgive me of my sin and help me to follow You, by faith. In Jesus' name, Amen. If you prayed that prayer this morning, we would so much like to know about it—fill out the form on the screen and we would love to send you a New Believer's Bible.

A Word to Believers in a Time of Need

One final thing for those of you who are already believers, and probably members of cross connection church. As of Friday, it's estimated that 22 million people have lost their jobs as a result of the shutdown. In the early church, those who had the ability helped provide for those who did not. Some of you have been asking how you can help. If you'd like to give to our benevolence fund for those in need as a result of coronavirus, you can do so at heart.lifeinconnection.com. This is a different fund than our general fund, which we still very much need your support for, given our obligations to staff and missionaries. But if you'd like to give beyond your regular giving to help those facing lost jobs or insufficient savings, you can give there.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I thank You for the work that You are doing. I realize the message I have given here can feel a little abrasive, but I absolutely believe this is the message You have for us at this point, because this is exactly what we had been going through in Deuteronomy before we ever got to this crisis. I think You have been setting us up for this. So I pray, God, that You would help our hearts to be open and receptive to what You want to speak. Just as Jesus said in the book of Revelation, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches"—I believe You are speaking to Your church right now through this very text in Deuteronomy. So God, open our ears, open our hearts to hear from You. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.