This morning I’m continuing to compare New Life Assembly and our personal lives to a smooth-running airplane. For planes to follow their flight plan, every system has to be working together; fuel injection, electrical and hydraulic systems have to work. The cabin systems for oxygen, heating, lighting, air pressure, etc. has to be right. New Life is a church pulling together to be fueled by the Holy Spirit and working to provide an atmosphere of comfort and safety for our passengers – our families, friends, church members and guests – as we travel to our divine and heavenly destiny. And, by God’s grace, we’re flying better all the time!
Now, I need to share a very sad, but true story with you about a plane that crashed. Tragically, on July 11, 1992, Flight 2120 caught fire shortly after take-off, and crashed. All 261 people on board died. It remains the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Canadian airline. You see, another system that has to work right is the landing gear, including the rubber tires that must be properly inflated. It was learned later that two tires were underinflated and had caught on fire during take-off. When the landing gear was retracted up into the belly of the plane, the hot rubber fire burned the floor out from under the passengers and people literally fell out of the plane while in the sky. Friends, for a moment, let each of us soberly think of ourselves as the tires that keep New Life and our families rolling safely and smoothly on take-off and landing. By God’s grace, let us not be over inflated by selfish ego/pride or underinflated with discouragement. God has something better for each of us personally and for our church.
Romans 12:3 (NIV) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
Friend, soberly judge yourself, and if your air pressure needs adjustment, God is ready to fill you with his Spirit, his joy, his peace, his faith, today. They call us Spirit-filled Pentecostals, holy rollers. You know, I’d rather be a holy roller than a flat tire! We are inflated with the joy of the Lord, the love for all of creation and we eagerly look forward to the promise land to come. Our church has a lot of holy rollers who are inflated with love and laughter and faith and happiness! Join us!
So, tires must be properly inflated, AND in alignment also. Have you noticed the potholes in our roads? I cringe every time I hit one knowing it can ruin a tire and/or knock my wheels out of alignment. So, we must keep our relationships ALIGNED through good communication, AND our hearts CONNECTED to one another with love. Once while driving A big, heavily loaded truck, this actually happened to me (skip to 30s seconds):
Thankfully, no other vehicles were on the road when my truck wheel came off. But, our enemy, the Evil One, wants to disconnect us from the strength of our church family and wreck our lives. Let’s resist the temptation to be lone rangers.
Now, every plane, every church and every person needs a runway to get them safely launched. Runways provide a smooth, safe path for plane tires. As our leaders and church members are properly inflated with joyful attitudes, and we are pulling together with each other in unity, and tightly connected with each other in love, we are ready to launch into the wide, blue yonder of God’s beautiful future for our church and for each of us personally. In Acts chapter 2, the Bible shows us how God launched the early church. There, he outlined a biblical runway to help us take off and land safely. In our Acts 2 studies it is known as the five functions of a healthy church. As we, the crew and flight team, align ourselves with God’s runway, we can keep this church on God’s flight path to abundant life now and eternal life forever. I’m going to go over each of the five functions briefly, but the attached handouts have a little more detail.
WORSHIP – The full surrender of all that I am and all I have to God; my time, my talents, my treasures. My body, soul and spirit. My family and my finances – All.
GROW – Increasing in the Christ-like maturity of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, wisdom, self-control and so forth, by the empowerment of the Spirit.
CONNECT – Making contact with people outside our current circle and helping them feel at home when they’re with us. Listening, learning and leading with love.
SERVE – Being the hands and feet of Jesus to share his love in word and deed.
GO – Taking the good news of God’s love, forgiveness and salvation into my workplace, neighborhood or school, and helping take the gospel around the world.
Luke 14:23 (NKJV) Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
As each of us follows these runway signs, it will get our church safely launched, with our loved ones, friends, co-workers and others on board, to God’s beautiful land of promise. If you personally will practice these five functions, it will get you on board to God’s wonderful flight plan for your future and your life.
I would love to hear from any of you about today’s sermon.
Please contact me at pastordanmatney@hotmail.com or call me at 970-390-0731.
Pastor Dan Matney
