Against Me Series

Title: IF: Against Me

Place: Blue Licks Christian Church

Date: 10/16/16

Text: Romans 8.4, Luke 9.23, 1 Corinthians 10 .23

CT: We must deny our self to reach God’s ideal for our lives.

Show Clip of movie trailer “Sully”.

[Screen 1]

FAS: On January 2, 2009,Flight 1549, a regular US Airways trip from LaGuardia Airport, took off at 15:26 local time, bound for Charlotte North Carolina. Everything was going fine. The captain did all the usual checks. The crew was settling in for a smooth flight as they had done so many times before.

But two minutes into the flight the plane ran straight into a flock of Canadian geese. One goose in a jet engine is dangerous but a flock was disastrous. Almost immediately both engines of the plane failed.

The captain and co-pilot had to make several major decisions instantly if they were going to save the lives of those on board and those on the ground in the crowded city below them.

There was no way to get back to the airport. That was even proven later.

Landing on the crowded New Jersey turnpike was not an option.

The only feasible option, as bad as it sounded, was to land on the Hudson River, which was nearly impossible to do. Never had been done. One slight mistake would send the plane into a somersault before breaking up and sinking.

In the two to three minutes they had to maneuver toward the river, many split second decisions had to be made. They had to adjust the nose to keep up flight speed. Had to override the autopilot computer. They had to straighten up out of a sharp turn to land on the water moving with the current and not against. They had to be perfectly level on impact. Along with many other tasks amateurs would not understand. Fortunately the captain, Chesley Sullenberger III, known as Sully was also a gliding instructor. And at just the right moment he had to bring the nose back up to set the plane on the water to keep from diving in. [Screen 2]

And they did it. Everyone got off the plane safely, with captain Sully himself walking up and down the aisle of the plane a couple of times to be sure everyone was off. One hundred and fifty five souls took off on that plane and one hundred and fifty five souls returned safely to the ground.

LS: Many people describe this event as a miracle. I watched the movie Monday night and it did seem like a miracle. At one level I would not question that. But what I find so incredible about this event is the way it illustrates a very vital truth for us to embrace as followers of Christ and for anyone who wants to be able to arise to the occasion should we be called.

You could call it the power of right habits. You might say it was the years of training and experience that brought about this miraculous ending.

The investigators of the crash or should I say forced water landing (as Sully was quick to point out), stated the only factor that kept the plane from being destroyed and all on board losing their lives was… Sully.

Face it, if you or I had been flying that plane it would have been doomed. Of course if there are any professionally trained pilots here today maybe you could have done what Sully did.

Sully had not, of course, been born with the ability to fly a plane let alone the specific skills he needed to land that plane in the Hudson River. None of the skills required, and certainly none of the courage, restraint, cool judgment and concern for others which he so famously displayed are part of the kit we receive at birth. You have to work at developing that set of skills. You have to choose those behaviors and practice them in all you do. And then at the time you really need those skills and strengths you will “automatically” react as the situation demands.

These skills become the virtue of that person’s life. It is a thousand small choices they have made to do the right things that lead to a person of the character that can handle any given situation to the best possible outcome.

It takes a lot of time to really be good at something. I often wish I could play piano or guitar. I watch folks who are so talented and make it look so easy.

It is the same with sports. We can’t just decide to pick up a basketball and hit 100 out of 100 free throws It takes time and many hours of practice.

Anything we attempt to do, whether it is playing a musical instrument or playing a sport or flying a plane, we have to develop a muscle memory that becomes stronger the more we repeat the activity.