Editor’s Note: Below is a transcript of a message, posted to You Tube on April 2, from president of the Adventist Church, Ted N.C. Wilson. Elder Wilson will release a new video each week, during the Coronavirus pandemic, which you can view here.
Greetings, Brothers and Sisters around the world, our wonderful church family, our worldwide family.
God is in control of all of our aspects as we place ourselves in His hands. Now, during this coronavirus pandemic, I want you to be encouraged in the Lord. I want you to feel His presence in all that is happening.
Know that the difficulties that are being faced by so many people are to be, in many ways, brought to a better understanding if you place yourself in God's hands, under his wings.
Thousands have been, contracting this terrible Coronavirus. Millions of lives have been disrupted. Life is changing before our very eyes. Things that we never even thought could happen, are happening now.
I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, God will see us through. Do not be afraid. Do not fear for what lies ahead for God will stand by you. He asks you to stand tall through His power. He asks you to connect through Bible study and through prayer and then to share with others.
During the 100 Days of Prayer, I want to ask all of you to earnestly pray for the latter rain. Pray for the Holy Spirit. Pray that God will stop this virus as Moses and Aaron appealed and interceded on behalf of the people of Israel during a very difficult illness there.
Pastors, I want to urge you to pray earnestly, and to understand that you, along with members, can intercede with God. God will hear our prayers.
I want to share with you from Psalm 56:3: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Verse 11: “In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Trust. Trust in God. Now let's go to Psalm 57:1. It's so appropriate for the Coronavirus, Covid-19 situation in which we are in right now. Listen to these beautiful words just for you.
“Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!” The Psalmist repeats that “For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.”
What a beautiful verse for us in this situation that we can hide under the wings of God, that this will pass. This is not the final end, this particular crisis, but it is a great precursor to what is going to happen in the near future.
I believe that Jesus is coming very soon and he wants this to be a wake-up call. Imagine what you can do in the near future, and even now, using your telephone, using social media, using--even waving at people, even a piece of literature, making sure that it's not contaminated, but somehow getting it to a person in an appropriate public health way.
God will use you to create innovative ways to reach out in Total Member Involvement. Even in this situation, we are under his wings.
A little story is told about a fire that took place on a farm, raged across that farm and finally the farmer was able to get out and look at his animals and his farm. He came to a very sad situation where there was a hen that had died in the fire. The feathers were all burnt and there was this lifeless body. He gently took his foot and moved that hen's body, out from that body, that dead body, came these little baby chicks who were alive, they had been saved by the mother under her body and her wings.
Fortunately, our God will never die. His wings are eternal, and we are under those beautiful wings.
Let me share with you a beautiful thought from “Christian Service”, a beautiful book. Page 52: “The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones”.
I think you and I can identify with that. And then on page 89 an appeal to each of us: “Heavenly angels have long been waiting for human agents. The members of the church,” that's you and me, “to cooperate with them in the great work to be done. They are waiting for you.”
God bless each one of you as you stand firm for God and cooperate with heavenly angels to take this gospel to the world.
Let's pray together: Father in Heaven, we ask that you bless each church member around the world. As they put their hands to the plow, as they put their lives under your wings. Lord, give us guidance, protection, and give us the power of the Holy Spirit to share with others the precious news of the three angels' messages, and that Jesus is coming soon. In Christ's name we ask it. Amen.