Pastor Robert Morris on how to fight Satan's lies amid COVID-19 fears
Gateway Church pastor Robert Morris shared how to fight off the “depression” inflicted by the devil in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, stressing that “God is going to get us through this.”
In a sermon delivered March 21, Morris cited Psalm 42:5, where David says: “Why are you cast down, Oh my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God for I shall yet praise Him for the help of his countenance.”
“What he’s saying is, ‘This season’s gonna pass. This is just a season. Why are you cast down?’” he explained.
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Another word for “cast down” is “pressed down,” or “depressed,” Morris said. “When you get in your car, you depress the gas pedal or depress the brake. You depress.”
“If you say, ‘I’m depressed,’ or ‘a person has depression,’ here’s what you’re saying, That person is being pushed down,” he continued. “Who is pushing you down? The enemy is pushing you down. And you don’t need to agree with the enemy with your mouth. So don’t be depressed.”
David also uses the word “disquieted,” which in the Hebrew means “growling,” Morris said, adding, “He’s talking to himself saying, ‘Why are you growling?’ Or let me put it another way, ‘Why are you grumbling?’”
“You have to say to your mind: ‘Stop it,’” Morris stressed. “I mean, I had to do it this last week. One morning I just got flooded with fear and think about it: If you have a cough, [you] immediately [think], ‘I must have the coronavirus. I better go get tested.' You can just keep going: 'I've felt a little achy lately.'”
“I’m not saying don’t use wisdom ... if you have any of the symptoms, go get tested,” he added. “I’m just saying, what you know to be true is, we can get depressed, and the enemy gets on top of us and pushes us down and we get more and more depressed and then we start grumbling on the inside. You have to tell your soul, ‘Stop grumbling.’”
“Here’s basically what David said to his soul: “Shut up. Shut up.' Let’s talk about [how] God is going to bring us through this season. God is going to get us through this.”
In an earlier video, Morris offered a prayer asking for a cure from Heaven for COVID-19: “Lord we come to you in Jesus’ name, we ask you as a nation, even joining with believers around the world, we ask you for a cure,” he prayed. “We ask you to hear from Heaven and heal our land and we thank you, according to 1st John, that you hear our prayers, and that we have the petitions for which we’ve asked.”
The U.S. death total had surpassed 4,000 and there were more than 189,600 confirmed cases of COVID-19 early Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard.
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States, some states have issued “stay-at-home orders,” preventing residents from leaving their homes except to get food or other essential supplies.
A number of pastors and Christian leaders have urged believers to use the time of quarantine to refocus their thoughts on God instead of succumbing to fear.
In a recent message, Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Church, stressed that the only way to get more faith and overcome worry is through “expanding your understanding, view of, and submission to God.”
“The best way I can help you to work through this crisis ... is to grow God in your understanding, in your experience, and in your focus,” he stressed, "because when we grow Him, your faith will grow with it and your worry will shrink and become responsible concern.”
It’s important to view “God as a father when it comes to not worrying,” Evans said.
“This father cares for you. When you come to look at Him this way, understand Him this way, relate to Him this way, you begin to experience God the daddy and not just God the Creator,” he said. “God will keep you calm even in a drought, even in a virus. So I want you to calm down, look at your family members right now who are seated with you and say, ‘Don’t worry.’”
