Cohabitation Series

Would you please open your bibles to John 5:30? Jesus says “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

Now turn to Ephesians 5:1. Paul writes “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.” The word “followers” means “imitators.” We are supposed to imitate our Father is what we say what be believe and in how we act.

These two verses tell us that, as Christians, we are supposed to be exact replicas of God here on earth. When we speak about an issue, the person hearing us should hear the exact same thing from God. But are we seeing this in the body of Christ today? Sadly no.

This is the second message in the series “Is God your co-pilot?” We’re going to do a quick review and then get into today’s topic.

Robert L. Scott was the fighter pilot in World War II who defeated Tokyo Joe, Japan’s most feared combat pilot. He later wrote the book, God is My Co-Pilot, which detailed the events of the confrontation because he wanted the world to know that God “sat next to him” in every single battle – that God was his co-pilot.

In the first message, we looked at the definitions of pilot and co-pilot and learned that the pilot usually has more knowledge, experience and expertise than the co-pilot when it comes to handling aircrafts. But most important, we learned that the pilot, not the co-pilot, is the person in charge. The co-pilot serves as a “second pair of hands” when needed.

For the body of Christ, if God is our co-pilot, that means we have more knowledge, experience and expertise to deal with the things in life than He does. And that is simply not true. It’s a lie. And this is where the analogy breaks down.

As we did in the first message, we are going to examine a statement that Christians (pilots) have made about an issue that has a direct bearing on scripture and compare it to what God (the co-pilot) says about the same issue in His “flight manual” – the Bible.

A successful flight that reaches its desired destination, needs both a flight plan and a detailed knowledge and understanding of the flight manual. In this series, the “flight” is the life of a Christian. And we will either have our own plan for our lives, or we will yield to the co-pilot’s plan for our lives which includes knowing, understanding and following what He has written in scripture.

Now let’s talk about flight plans for a moment. Flight plans are the required documents that must be filed by the pilot or flight dispatcher prior to departure. It outlines the aircraft’s planned flight path, but also includes departure and arrival points, the number of passengers, alternate airports in case of bad weather and estimated time of arrival.

Now, Did you notice that the co-pilot is not identified as being a participant in the planning or the filing of the flight plan?

The flight manual contains the aircrafts operating limitations in normal and abnormal weather conditions and in emergency situations, such as a forced landing. Each flight manual, now follow me with this analogy, is tailored for each specific aircraft.

Think of the flight plan as the map that shows the path the aircraft must take from point A in order to reach point B. Think of the flight manual as the book the pilot and co-pilot must know and thoroughly understand to operate the aircraft properly in order for it to arrive at point B safely.

With this in mind …

? If my pilot does not know the flight plan for my flight, my life, would I get on the plane?

? If my pilot rarely refers to the flight manual, would I trust him to know what to do if an emergency occurred on my flight, in my life?

? If my co-pilot had more knowledge, expertise and skill than my pilot, who would I want calling the shots on my flight, in my life?

? If my co-pilot wrote the flight manual, who would I trust with my life on my flight?

Now let’s dig into today’s message and don’t forget about these questions, okay?

What the Christian (pilot) says

“The loving God I believe in would not condemn two people

who love each other and decide to live together.”

What God (their co-pilot) says in the “flight manual”

Turn with me to Romans 13. We’re going to read verses 11 through 14.

(10) Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

(11) And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.