GOD’S FLIGHT PLAN
John 14:1-5
INTRO:
Do you sometimes feel like Thomas ? Do you know the way ?
All pilots file a flight plan before they take off. It tells the route of flight, the destination, the amount of fuel on board, the cruising altitude and the number of people on board among other things.
DID YOU KNOW THAT GOD HAS A FLIGHT PLAN FOR YOU ?
A. If you do not know about this flight plan, you are in the same shape as Thomas who said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
B. In vs 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Yes, I know that is not politically correct to say that Christ is the only way, but I didn't day it, Jesus did.
C. Next time you go fly on an Airliner, try telling the pilot, you know a better way for him, to get you where you are going.
Try telling the pilot you have a different flight plan and see if that will change any thing.
1. I am an former Navy pilot with a commercial pilot license.
Now at age 79, I mostly ride in airliners and let someone else do the flying.
2. But I remember an old saying about flying. “It is hours and hours of sheer boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror.”
3. During those hours and hours of sheer boredom that we
experience in flying on commercial airliners, we get somewhat
complacent.
4. For instance, most of you have heard the talk the stewardess
gives before a flight, can anybody remember what she says?
5. But I tell you this, if the aircraft is in danger, then all of us
will certainly listen to every word she says.
6. Frightened people in airplanes will start confessing their sins
to God.
Evangelist Kelly Green said one time he was so frightened he
was confessing sins he had never committed.
7. Many times we have become satisfied with our spiritual
journey. As long as our journey is going smooth, we ignore the
message of God’s word.
8. But when we ourselves, or a loved one, is deathly ill, then we
will listen very carefully to any words of comfort brought to us
by God through his word.
9. What I want to impress on you today is that you are on a
dangerous journey, one that will certainly end in hell, if you
take the wrong flight with the wrong pilot.
I/ God’s Pilot is uniquely qualified.
Since the Destination is heaven, your Pilot must have 4 unique qualifications:
1. First He must not make any error’s, He must be perfect.
If he makes any mistakes you will die. Only a perfect Pilot can take you to heaven.
2. Second He must be infinitely perfect.
He can never make a mistake because He must take all those that trust in Him to heaven. And and we know only God is Infinitely perfect. To be infinitely perfect, The Pilot must therefore be both God and man.
3. Next, The pilot must be pay the price for your ticket.
The cost to land in heaven is the payment for your sin.
The cost is to great for you to pay.
1 Peter 3:18”For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
4. Finally the Pilot must be willing to take you. Luke 19:10
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which
was lost.
In all man’s history only Jesus Christ fulfills those requirements, that is why He can say, “I am the way”. The Only Way, He is the only Pilot you can trust.
I don’t know what flight plan you are taking when you die, but I’m going with Jesus !
Do you remember that just 2 verses before Thomas said “Lord we don’t know the way”, Jesus said “I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am”
You see He is coming for those that belong to Him. He is going to take them to heaven to be with him.
All they have to do is ride along. He has the flight plan, He is the flight plan.
II/ God has a Flight Plan just for you.
WHAT DOES GOD’S FLIGHT PLAN LOOK LIKE ?
1. First YOU need faith:
(Rom 10:17) " faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."
First there must be the Word of God, then someone needs to tell you about Jesus, then you need faith to believe and receive Him as your personal savior.
Eph 2:8,9 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9not by works, so that no one can boast.
Even Faith comes from God
2. You need to know that Eternal Life is a free gift - received by faith. That is because Jesus has paid the price.
Rom 6:23 And that there are two things about a gift: First, you could not work for it or it would not be a gift. Second and most important, you have to receive it or it will never be yours.
3. Lets look at the process
a. First, The Word of God - Will tell you some things you do not like to hear. It will tell you that you are a sinner, next that you can not save yourself, then you will learn that only Jesus Christ can save you.
All of this will hurt you pride and though you understand it, you will not want to humble yourself before God and others.
b. Then there is the Holy Spirit At this point something unique
happens, The Holy Spirit will use the Word of God to produce conviction in your heart. This is where God is calling you.
The Holy Spirit will show you that Jesus is alive and living in the heart of the His children.
4. Next, you will understand the truth of Romans 10: 9, 10 & 13
Let’s look it up together!
Underline the 3 Key words: Believe, Call & Confess.
A. The night I was saved, God gave me faith to Believe that God loved me and that Jesus died as my substitute to pay the price for my sin, and I believed that God raised Him from the dead. His resurrection is important because it vindicates every thing Jesus said.
That night, I went home and woke my wife up and said “Jesus is alive” she thought I had lost my mind.
B. I just stood there while the invitation was given and silently Called on Him in prayer, asking Him to forgive my sin, & to come into my heart and be my personal Savior. I did not go forward at that time.
C. Later, when someone from the church visited me,
I Confessed to Him that I had received Christ, was baptized, and through the years have shared my faith with many others.
III/ GETTING ON BOARD
Romans 6:23 says “ The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”
The ticket is free, but you have to get on the airplane. You have to have faith (trust) in God that He will take you safely to heaven.
The devil will tell you the plane is going to crash, so you should not
get on board. Or maybe you are just afraid of committing your life to the skill of the pilot.
Day after day you will see the plane take off and then come back for other passengers. Will you still be afraid ? Will you put off going until
your ticket expires?
The bible says today is the day of Salvation. Today accept God’s free
gift, commit your life to Jesus. Trust Him, there is no other you can trust.
