"Are You Still Amazed By God's Grace”

British Airways 2069 left Heathrow’s London Airport everything seemed to be going quite well at first. Six hours into the flight some of the passengers were asleep, some of the reading lights were on, everyone was comfortably settled in when suddenly everyone was jarred awake by a violent dip of the airplane. They heard a scuffle up near the front and in the cockpit their was a lot of chaos. Then about as suddenly as the plan dipped it had leaved out and seemed to have recovered. The problem was that a 27 year old deranged and suicidal man had rushed into the cockpit and momentarily gained control of the plane. When the pilots jumped on him they were able to pull him away from the controls for just a moment and then he began to punch them and pull the and even began to bite them. He regained control of the airplane and locked himself onto the controls and leaned forward and pushed the 747 into a deep and violent plunge. At this point everyone in the cabin was absolutely chaotic, people were yelling and screaming people were praying out loud, people writing notes to their loved ones. They were certain they were doomed as this 747 plunged toward the ground. Earlier that day a man by the name of Clark Bineham had gone to London’s Heathrow and tried to get on his flight from London to Uganda but was bumped due to bad weather and got on flight 2069 going from London to Kenya. They were going to fly him from Uganda to Kenya with apologies and to make up for it they put him in first class. Clark said it was the first time he had ever flown in first class and they put him two sets from the cockpit. Clark was on his way to a short-term missions trip, he was a preacher from South Carolina and he was going to preach to a couple thousand teenagers who were assembled for a rally in Uganda. The preacher that God had redirected to this flight happened to also be six foot seven and a former athlete from Clemson. He was huge and in the prime of his life. He says in the report that he saw a very short flight attendant going to assist in the cockpit and about that time he says he realized it was his calling to get involved. He unleashed himself from his seat belt and dove into the fray in the cockpit were everyone was fighting and this madman was clenched to the controls of the plane. And this six foot seven preacher popped that guy out of the cockpit like a bad tooth. He literally threw him on the floor between the first couple of rows and jumped on him and with the help of his preaching partner subdued this man and had him quickly tied up by his hands. The plan in this deep descent was then regained by the pilot who took the plan and releveled it back out and he later said that if the plane would’ve continued at that descent for 2 or 3 more seconds he would not have been able to recover it.

What do you think the passengers thought of Clark Bineham? They thought they were doomed but because of the intervention of a preacher from North Carolina they had a whole new lease on life. He was their hero, they all had a since of relief, some said they didn’t sleep for days and all they could think of was Clark Bineham.

Paul is trying to paint that kind of picture for us in Colossians chapter one. When he says the life and destiny of every single person on earth was doomed for the wrath of God had it not been for the intervention of a preacher from Nazareth. The destiny of everyone who has put his or her faith in Christ has now been radically changed.

Colossians 1:21-23 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation- 23if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

We were alienated from God then Paul puts these words in verse 22 “but now” he has reconciled you.

Can you imagine sinful people presented God as Holy? There is something in the Greek that we don’t see in the English there is an intensifier on the word now. You once where far away from God but now…it’s different – but now through God’s amazing grace you’ve been given a new position – now you’re not far away from God but you’re in Christ. Paul wants us to catch the gravity of our plight that we once were headed for doom, but through Christ we are headed for eternal bliss. If Christians could catch the vision of where they were headed and where they are now it would change the whole perspective of the church. It would totally transform your attitude about much of your plight of understood that you once were doomed but you’ve been saved. We were not saved from loneliness, or hopelessness; we were saved from God’s wrath.