Is God your Pilot, or still only a co-pilot?

[dhchristian]

Back when I was growing up, the Bumper sticker "God is my co-pilot" was often found in the church parking lots, including mine, where my Pastor had that on his car. But this statement highlights the problems in the theology of today, which has grown even worse. God is no longer even the co-pilot, but a passenger with the person driving the car the Old man trying to live pleasing God.

What should be the case in the lives of all believers is that God is the Pilot and we are the passengers. The Problem is not one of false doctrine, for many of them hold the right doctrines, the problem is not one of theological sufficiency or lack of hearing the truth, the problem is a lack of submission to the Authority of God in One's life. People say they want to draw near to God, they say they want to resist the devil, but they can do none of these things until they submit to God as James 4 clearly states, this is the one thing that begins our walk towards holiness and overcoming. 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:7-10

You see, a Christian comes to salvation and receives Christ as His savior, But he is yet to be his LORD. Learning to submit to Him and His authority in your life is akin to a bride making herself ready for the wedding, this is the "great mystery" Which Paul speaks of in Ephesians 5 about the church.... When we are first saved, most only have Christ as their co pilot, but they still have their hands on the controls and if left in this will drive that Plane to its demise, But when we release those controls over to that co pilot and let Him fly the plane is when we will soar on wings of Eagles. He wants us to be passengers, not pilots or co-pilots, He wants us to fully believe in his ability to fly the plane, and to let him do that. The things that get in the way of this loss of control, are things like our mental capacity, our wealth and prosperity, the cares of this world, the Bible is full of these illustrations. The Most obvious example is when the Israelites came out of Egypt, they escaped Egypt miraculously, yet they did not enter the promised land because of unbelief, as exemplified by the writer of Hebrews in chapters 3 and 4. 

So the question here raised, is are you, like Israel, going to trust fully in God as your Pilot, Or you going to keep your proverbial hands on the controls and crash in the wilderness because you trust your own abilities and strength to save you? Is Jesus your Co-pilot, Is he your pilot, or is he just your passenger? Submitting to the authority of God is the Most liberating thing anyone can do in their Christian walk, I Know this seems counterintuitive, but I can attest to the truth of this. it takes the burden and guilt off of our hands of crashing and allows us to soar on wings of Eagles, this is what Christ wants for His Bride, this what it means for the bride to be ready for His coming, Are you? 

[other one]

God is my navigator....   he knows where we are and lets me know....   he tells me where we are going and how to get there...   but he still expects me to do things....    I do the flying and he directs my every move....   but he's not a welfare God,   he doesn't do everything for you...

[dhchristian]

9 minutes ago, other one said:

God is my navigator....   he knows where we are and lets me know....   he tells me where we are going and how to get there...   but he still expects me to do things....    I do the flying and he directs my every move....   but he's not a welfare God,   he doesn't do everything for you...

It is much easier for a poor man to let God control their life than a rich man, Hence the following: And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Mt. 19:24)

This is the Laodicean malady... Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (Rev 3:17)

Let him do the flying and you will see the plane do things it was never capable of doing with you at the helm, he did after all make the plane and knows its abilities. People in the western world in general are afraid of this, "loss of control". But it is not a loss of control when HE is in Control, it is a loss of ourselves, putting to death the old man. 

God Bless.

[Willa]

59 minutes ago, other one said:

God is my navigator....   he knows where we are and lets me know....   he tells me where we are going and how to get there...   but he still expects me to do things....    I do the flying and he directs my every move....   but he's not a welfare God,   he doesn't do everything for you...

My thoughts exactly.  I still have to move myself to follow Him.  He is my shepherd, so He does show me how to avoid danger.   That is also a duty of a Navigator.  He guides me.

[dhchristian]

Just now, Willa said:

My thoughts exactly.  I still have to move myself to follow Him.  He is my shepherd, so He does show me how to avoid danger.   That is also a duty of a Navigator.  He guides me.

 He first is our co pilot, we can only go so far with this we eventually have to give him the controls so that we can soar on wings of Eagles (Isaiah 40:31) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

Notice How this verse ties in with James 4 passage I quoted. When He is our co pilot, he is our savior, when he becomes our pilot he is our savior and LORD. 

Edited August 19, 2020 by dhchristian

[BeauJangles]

1 hour ago, dhchristian said:

Bumper sticker "God is my co-pilot"

I don't remember that one so much. "Honk if you  Jesus" was a big one. My response to, "God is my co-pilot" was that you were sitting in the wrong seat. I guess that sums it up pretty well. 

[Willa]

We must still steer in the directions the navigator gives us.  He directs our paths.  I understand what you are saying.  But if you don't follow the headings the Navigator gives, you are not following His Lordship.  The Pilot has free will.  We need to make the Navigator our Lord to make the analogy work.

[dhchristian]

Just now, Willa said:

We must still steer in the directions the navigator gives us.  He directs our paths.  I understand what you are saying.  But if you don't follow the headings the Navigator gives, you are not following His Lordship.  The Pilot has free will.  We need to make the Navigator our Lord to make the analogy work.

It is that Will that we need to surrender to His will....nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:42

Then we will have overcome as Christ Overcame.... To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (Rev. 3:20)

God Bless.

[Alive]

My navigator has somehow directed me to a place where I can't do anything without Him...I can't breathe, do my work, even think straight without Him. He literally sustains me in all ways and in all things. It wasn't always this way...in my heart and mind.

[dhchristian]

44 minutes ago, Alive said:

My navigator has somehow directed me to a place where I can't do anything without Him...I can't breathe, do my work, even think straight without Him. He literally sustains me in all ways and in all things. It wasn't always this way...in my heart and mind.

Submitting to the Authority of the Pilot and giving Him the controls of your life, is liberating and not stifling. We Learn to soar on wings of Eagles. Ever read this fable?

Fable of the Eagle and the Chicken

A fable is told about an eagle that thought he was a chicken. When the eagle was very small, he fell from the safety of his nest. A chicken farmer found the eagle, brought him to the farm, and raised him in a chicken coop among his many chickens. The eagle grew up doing what chickens do, living like a chicken, and believing he was a chicken. A naturalist came to the chicken farm to see if what he had heard about an eagle acting like a chicken was really true. He knew that an eagle is king of the sky. He was surprised to see the eagle strutting around the chicken coop, pecking at the ground, and acting very much like a chicken. The farmer explained to the naturalist that this bird was no longer an eagle. He was now a chicken because he had been trained to be a chicken and he believed that he was a chicken. The naturalist knew there was more to this great bird than his actions showed as he “pretended” to be a chicken. He was born an eagle and had the heart of an eagle, and nothing could change that. The man lifted the eagle onto the fence surrounding the chicken coop and said, “Eagle, thou art an eagle. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” The eagle moved slightly, only to look at the man; then he glanced down at his home among the chickens in the chicken coop where he was comfortable. He jumped off the fence and continued doing what chickens do. The farmer was satisfied. “I told you it was a chicken,” he said. The naturalist returned the next day and tried again to convince the farmer and the eagle that the eagle was born for something greater. He took the eagle to the top of the farmhouse and spoke to him: “Eagle, thou art an eagle. Thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” The large bird looked at the man, then again down into the chicken coop. He jumped from the man’s arm onto the roof of the farmhouse. Knowing what eagles are really about, the naturalist asked the farmer to let him try one more time. He would return the next day and prove that this bird was an eagle. The farmer, convinced otherwise, said, “It is a chicken.” The naturalist returned the next morning to the chicken farm and took the eagle and the farmer some distance away to the foot of a high mountain. They could not see the farm nor the chicken coop from this new setting. The man held the eagle on his arm and pointed high into the sky where the bright sun was beckoning above. He spoke: “Eagle, thou art an eagle! Thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” This time the eagle stared skyward into the bright sun, straightened his large body, and stretched his massive wings. His wings moved, slowly at first, then surely and powerfully. With the mighty screech of an eagle, he flew. –(In Walk Tall, You’re A Daughter Of God, by Jamie Glenn)