on Wednesday March 11th the World Health  Organization declared covet 19 a global   pandemic coronavirus which was unknown to  world health officials just three months   ago has rapidly spread to more than a hundred  and forty-five thousand people from Asia to   the Middle East Europe and the United States in  the past two weeks the number of cases outside   China has increased 13 fold and the number  of affected countries is tripled in the days   and weeks ahead said the director-general  of the World Health Organization we expect

to see the number of cases and the number  of affected countries climb even higher as   a result for the first time in my lifetime we  are seeing cancellations and postponements of   major events and activities that are supposed  to stem the tide of the spreading virus schools   at all levels are either closing for a period of  time or going entirely online including sdsu USB   Point Loma University San Diego Christian schools  which are operated by our church have closed all   campuses and suspended all activities most of  San Diego County’s 42 school districts and many

charter schools will close Monday to prevent  the spread of corona virus Broadway theaters   in New York City have gone dark through April  the 12th the National Basketball Association   Major League Baseball and the National Hockey  League have all announced that their seasons   are being suspended meanwhile the NCAA announced  that March Madness will be canceled for the first   time ever in history and for the first time  since 9/11 and the fourth time ever Disneyland   will close through the end of March on Friday  president Trump declared a national emergency

he did this on national television and  the declaration freed up as much as fifty   billion in financial resources to assist American  individuals who are affected by the outbreak on   Saturday the president added the UK and Ireland  who has already placed travel bans on China and   Europe on Thursday the US stock market tumbled in  its biggest one-day percentage drop since 1987 as   new societal restrictions have been rolled out  you’ve probably heard a lot of the complaining   that I’ve heard complaining that the government  has overreacted and placed us in our economy at

great risk before you go there I’d like you  to listen to this statement from Andy Kraus   here’s what he said any action by leaders to  impose drastic measures against kovat 19 that   doesn’t seem too early to most people will be  in fact too late correspondingly any action to   lift mitigation measures that don’t seem too late  will be too early so what are we to do with all   this information I’m a pastor not an infectious  disease expert I find my hope in the words that   Jesus spoke to his disciples in the upper room on  the night of his crucifixion you remember those

words he said peace I leave with you my peace I  give to you not as the world gives do I give to   you let not your heart be troubled neither let it  be afraid hearing these words we are Christians   and we can respond with faith and wisdom instead  of fear and panic and so I’d like to give you six   things we can all do as followers of Christ  in the midst of this crazy time in which we   find ourselves first of all we can concentrate on  prayer President Trump declared Sunday March the   15th and National Day of Prayer and the Southern  Baptist Convention has challenged its 147 thousand

churches to devote that day to prayer as well in  the middle of all the uncertainty that surrounds   us at this time it is difficult to think of  a better thing to do than to pray and it is   difficult to think of a better prayer than the one  spoken by a desperate but confident Judean king   whose name was Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat ancient  perspective is more appropriate today than you   can imagine in his context a dangerous delegation  from Edom was closing in on his nation but his   faith was all-encompassing he wasn’t just trusting  the Lord in the face of potential military defeat