“If the Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise,” on Sunday morning, we are going to talk about 10 examples of “one-liners” about God. One of them was in the previous sentence—I’m sure you can figure out what it was. The one that serves as the title for this article is where I want to focus- “If God is Your Co-Pilot, Swap Seats!” 

“There is no point in trying to carry the ball until you learn where the goal is.”
 
It is now time to summarize the previous lessons.  It is important that we believe and understand what we’ve studied.  Our reason for this comes from the Bible:
 
“Test all things:  hold fast what is good.” (I Thessalonians 5:21).
 
The truth on any subject does not fear honest evaluation for truth will stand any test.  So, I wonder:  When can I Start?  I can start my spiritual journey when I understand the questions we have discussed.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self, and the world makes you king for a day, just go to the mirror and look at yourself, and see what that man has to say.
 
For it isn't your father or mother or wife, who judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life is the one staring back from the glass.
 
Some people may think you a straight-shootin' chum and call you a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum if you can't look him straight in the eye.
 
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest, for he's with you clear up to the end.
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test, if the man in the glass is your friend.
 
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years and get pats on the back as you pass.  But your final reward will be heartache and tears if you've cheated the man in the glass.

“You made a bad decision.”  That’s what my brother-in-law and sister-in-law said to their son James after he did that very thing in his young life.  The discipline that followed his bad decision was intended to help him understand what he had done and what were the effects of his actions.  That’s a really good lesson to learn at such a young age. 

In this lesson, we will consider the Old Testament book of Jonah that depicts an incident in the life of the book’s namesake.  We will learn from him the key to living a worthwhile life.
 
Happiness comes along in the natural procession of life.  Those who establish a worthwhile lifestyle and pursue it find happiness in life.  You might then ask, “What is a worthwhile lifestyle?”  Those who seem to be most happy are those who have attained a right relationship with the God of the universe, and the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

We are to be edified and lifted up by assembling in God's presence.  We are to be taught from God’s Word in its completeness and purity.  God’s word lifts our hearts and spirits to greater heights each time we do this, thus we go from the milk to the meat of the Word, in which we stand.  Those who are led by every wind of change and every strange sound coming from the pulpits today will reap a bitter harvest, if they do not examine every word and spirit of preachers, teachers, and themselves, to make sure that they are from and led by the Word of God. (Psalms 26:2, Acts 17:10-11, 1John 4:1 2 Cor 13:5).

In Genesis 22, we read where God commanded Abraham to “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Genesis 22:2 ESV).  The first time I read this scripture as a child, I probably thought, “Boy, I’m glad God never told my dad to do that to me.  As a father, however, EVERY TIME I read this scripture, I think “Boy, I’m glad God hasn’t asked me to do that.”  I imagine every parent reading this scripture has had the same thought. 

In our country and in our time, we do not have much experience with the armor that the Roman soldiers wore and used.  One of their most important pieces was the shield.  It was their refuge from incoming spears and swords.  They could even use it as an offensive weapon swinging it at the enemy.  It could also serve as a bed.

This week, I ran across two poems that demonstrate the importance of Christians being involved in the work of their local congregation. Excerpts from both are included below:
 
Here's what a congregation could look like if we all get involved:
When everyone works and nobody shirks, You can raise a church from the dead!
And if when you make your personal stake, Your neighbor can make one too.
Your church will be what you want it to be, for it isn’t your church – it’s you!
 
Here’s what a congregation looks like when no one wants to be involved:
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

“Life is tragic for the person who has plenty to live on, but nothing to live for.”
 
In our society, we often hear the desperate cry, “Just why am I here?”  It may come from a teenager with no one to turn to or from a wife whose husband has left her.  It may come from one who just needs a purpose in life. 

Change is all around us.  The seasons change.  People grow older and change.  Some change noticeably from day to day.  Some lose a few more hairs while others find a few new gray ones.  Some find a new wrinkle added to their faces while others notice a few pounds added to their bodies.  Modern technology allows people to change the color of their eyes merely by changing contacts.  Local tattoo and piercing parlors have obviously kept busy changing the appearance of so many people. 

Mothers appear to be normal human beings.  They have all the physical features everyone else has:  two eyes, two hands, two arms, two feet, all connected to one body.  These are the visible characteristics of this special woman.  But, there is far more to her than meets the eye.

God designed only two institutions—the Church and the family.  They are so interrelated that He spoke of them in the same text (Ephesians 5:22-33).  Jesus’ relationship to the Church is described in the family terms of husband and wife.  Elsewhere we learn that all who are in the Church are in the family of God and are named Christians after God’s Son Jesus (Ephesians 3:15).

“Life can be understood only by looking backward, but it must be lived by looking forward.”
 
A backward glance reminds us of the Bible’s answer to the first of our seven wonders of the world - Who Am I?  We understand that we have been created by God to do His will.  The controlling agent, the Bible, convicts us of our separation from God because of sin.  It is at this point that we become conscious of our mistakes and must then ask the present question: “What do I need?”

Jesus lived during the times of the Roman Empire. Therefore, much of what He said was based on that time period. He spoke about the government and their demand for taxes and the requirement for citizens to be submissive to them. He often used soldiers and warfare in His illustrations. There were no better soldiers at that time than the Romans. And, everyone knew it.

“Now Korah…took men and they rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation…They gathered together against Moses and Aaron…” (Numbers 16:1-3). 

Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.”  Sometimes we might forget the importance of what he just said.  The power in conversion is not within us; it is in the word of God.  But, we must not get in the way of the word through a faulty or unprepared presentation.

You probably had at least one teacher in your schooling career who was very difficult to follow.  He or she just did not make learning fun or easy.  Maybe he didn’t care whether you learned or not.  Maybe she was so smart that she just could not get the material down to a level that you could learn it.  Or maybe the teacher was just a bad teacher.  Whatever the case, it is very difficult to learn given these circumstances.

There is a question many people search to settle. That question is, “Who am I?”  Genealogical research is a very popular pastime.  Much time and money is spent trying to find more information about ancestors.  Through studying ancestors, descendants come to understand themselves better.

I don’t want to embarrass Camden Makinen but he provided a number of us with one of the best illustrations of real faith.  Bryan told this story at the Men’s Advance in 2008.  The family’s evening routine ended with a Bible story and prayer.  The story was Lot and the city of Sodom.