In the movie, Apollo 13, this phrase became iconic…
“Houston, we have a problem.”
You may remember the story.
In 1970, NASA was hoping to send three astronauts to the moon but before they got there an 02 tank sparked an explosion.
From that point on, the mission wasn’t the moon, it was getting these three guys safely home.
In that one moment, something happened that changed everything. If they were going to survive this crisis they would have to depend on each other and all those at NASA who were doing everything they could to get them home.
The problem?
That one spark caused a 1000 problems none of which they had immediate answers for. What was of first concern was that they were all alone in space with no clear way to get back home.
Right now, we have a problem.
Something has happened that has changed everything. And the truth is, this problem has sparked a 1000 other problems.
So some of you right now either know someone or you know someone who knows someone who has COVID-19. Their problem is this illness and we’re praying like you’re praying for their healing and recovery.
Some of you right now, your problem is that you’re out of work. The economic impact of this virus has affected your life and your not sure, financially, if you’ll get through this. And we’re praying like your praying for your work and your ability to provide for yourself and your family.
Some of you right now, your problem is that before all this happened, you had a procedure scheduled to give you help, healing, and relief from some persistent pain or problem. But now that operation has been delayed because of this current crisis and you’ve been living with that pain and that problem waiting for the day you can get the help you need. And we’re praying like you’re praying for that day to come and for you to get the help you need.
Some of you right now, your problem is that you’ve been living in complete isolation for weeks on end and despite all the technology, despite all your attempts at meaningful connection, you’re just feeling incredibly isolated and alone right now. And isolation and loneliness are breeding grounds for fear, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. And we’re praying like you’re praying that you will get through this and that you will know that you are not alone.
Houston, we have a problem.
That’s the radio call we would make if we were thousands of miles from planet earth and something had happened that changed everything and compromised our ability to return home.
But we’re not a thousand miles away from planet earth. We’re right here, on the ground dealing with and living through this current crisis. And we’re not calling on Houston for help. As good as the engineers at NASA are, we need to call on someone else for help in this present moment.
Who Do We Call for Help?
The Good News is that we can call for help. Whatever problem we’re facing, whatever our current crisis, whatever is going on in our life, there is help and there is hope.
Today I want to take just a moment to point you to one of the most powerful, game-changing truths of the gospel. And this good news I believe has the power to change everything for us.
1 Corinthians is a letter written by a man named Paul to a church in the ancient city of Corinth. Paul had planted this church but then had left to enoucourage other churches in other places. And while he’s been away, he’s learned that something has happened in this church that has changed everything.
He was hoping that when he returned to Corinth, he would find the church stronger, flourishing, and more vibrant than when he had left. But something has happened that has compromised their spiritual health.
A disease has broken out. An epidemic that has gone viral. But this isn’t a situation where there’s a health crisis. The sickness is sin, and it’s spreading throughout the church at an alarming rate.
Paul, speaking against the sin that is running rampant in the church, wants the people in this church to remember one of the most powerful truths of the Good News we share. And here it is in verse 19…
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6.19-20
The Holy Spirit Lives in You
Paul says this to remind the followers of Jesus in Corinth that because their bodies are the temple where the Holy Spirit lives, they can no longer continue to live the same way they did before. You have to honor God with your body because the Spirit of the Living God is living inside of you.
But the Holy Spirit living in you isn’t just living inside of you to convict you of your sin, the Spirit of the Living God is living inside of you to help you!
Here are a few other things Paul tells us about the Holy Spirit…
The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. Romans 8.26
The Holy Spirit provides power over temptation. Galatians 5:16
The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom to know what to do. Ephesians 1.17
The Holy Spirit gives us strength and power during difficult times. Ephesians 3.16
The Holy Spirit works in us and through us for the benefit of the church, the spread of His gospel, and the glory of His great name. Galatians 5.16-26
If you believe in Jesus, if you believe the Good News that something happened that changes everything, then your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
You Are Not ALONE
And here’s the good news for you today… whatever your battle is…
whether you’re fighting sickness or illness, whether your fighting through job loss or financial difficulty, whether your battling other health issues or chronic pain, or if you’re fighting for life because of the temptation and sin in your life… here’s the good news, you are not alone.
You are not fighting alone. Maybe the greatest lie the Enemy has ever told is the LIE that YOU ARE ALONE. That no one struggles with what you struggle with. That no is going through what you’re going through. But YOU ARE NOT ALONE. You have the HOLY SPIRIT to help you fight your battles. And the One who is in you is greater than he who is in the world! – 1 John 4.4
Return from the ISS
Just a few weeks ago, on April 17th, Jessica Meir, Andrew Morgan, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka returned to earth from the International Space Station.
But the Earth they came home to was very different from the planet they had left. While they were living in outer space on the ISS, something happened here on Earth that changed everything!
This time, it wasn’t the astronauts calling earth saying, Houston, we have a problem. This time earth had to send the message to outer space to tell our astronauts that we have a problem!
Living on the ISS, our astronauts could see Earth and had a front row seat to the planet. And from 254 miles above earth, everything looked fine. But everything was changing on the planet below. A virus was sweeping the planet.
Here’s what one of our American astronauts, Jessica Meir, had to say after returning to earth:
“It is quite surreal for us to see this whole situation unfolding on the planet below,” said Meir. “We can tell you that the Earth still looks just as stunning as always from up here, so it’s difficult to believe all the changes that have taken place since both of us have been up here.”
They knew what was happening on Earth, but they had no power to change it. No way to help. They couldn’t stop the virus from spreading. All they could do was watch from a distance.
That’s not the story of our God. When God saw the pandemic of sin sweeping the earth, he wasn’t stuck on a space station in some corner of the galaxy. He wasn’t powerless to help. He wasn’t just an observer of the catastrophic damage done by the sickness of sin, the broken relationships, the shattered lives, the hurt, the pain, and the heartache caused by so much sin.
No. Our God took action.
He made a move to bring hope and healing. He has the cure. He has the vaccine. He is the antidote. He knows what we need and He so loved everyone on planet earth that He took the unprecedented step of sending His Son into the world He created to take all of that sickness on himself.
Isaiah the prophet said it this way…
“He took our sicknesses
and removed our diseases.”
– Matthew 8.17; Isaiah 53.4
And because of what Jesus did on the cross, because of His resurrection on that Sunday after the darkest Friday, we not only have HOPE we have a HELPER!
We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us.
And here’s the good news today…
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO FIGHT YOUR BATTLES ALONE.
Today, if you’re fighting isolation, loneliness, and a sense of hopelessness, I want you to know that you are not alone.
If you’re battling sickness, disease, if your run the fight of your life because of a health concern of any kind I want you to know, you are not alone.
If you just learned this past week that you are now unemployed, or that your pay got reduced, or if your unsure for any reason how you’re going to make the ends meet this month, I want you to know you are not alone.
And if you are in the fight of your life because of some temptation or sin, no matter what kind of temptation or sin you are in a battle with, I want you to know that you are not alone.
The good news is that we have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of us. And it’s my prayer that during this time you will get to know the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit more and more. It’s my prayer that you will get to know the PERSON who is the Holy Spirit and that you will rely on this powerful truth, we are NEVER ALONE!
God our Father is not a million miles away today. And when we pray and we say that we have a problem, He is NEAR! He is ABLE to HELP and He is ABLE to SAVE!
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