Title - God's Flight School

Scripture - Deut. 32: 9-14	

Illustration -- It was sometime last year (2001), when Gabrielle and I were trying to fly A Kite.  There barely any wind and our efforts were failing with each attempt.  The kite would at best start a few feet and then crash.  I seen the discouragement on little Gabrielle's face, she at this time had never before tried to fly a kite, so to her this was a big thing and her little heart was set on seeing the kite fly.  So, I said to Gabrielle, lets pray and ask God for his help, for even the winds obey his every command.  After our short but in full faith prayer, we tried again.  Much to both our supprise the kite sored into the air.   Gabrielle imediately was filled with joy.  Wow God answered this little prayer of faith.

I could tell you of many other times like the one at the park and the rain was coming in, we prayed and it soon was gone, the sun came out and God gave us the afternoon in a dry park. 

Sometimes God does maricles.  Great and small
Even to please a little child.

Illustration -- During the winter of 1940 Josephine Kuntz' husband, a house painter and textile worker, was temporarily unemployed because of the weather and a seasonal lay-off. It was a difficult time for the family. They literally had no money. Their eighteen month old daughter, Rachel, was recovering from pneumonia and wasn't doing well. The doctor insisted Rachel eat a boiled egg each day, but even that was beyond their means.

Why not pray for an egg?" suggested a young friend. . . Josephine wasted no time. On her knees she prayed that God would provide an egg each morning for her daughter.

Later that morning Josephine heard some cackling coming from the hedge fence in front of their home. Among the bare branches sat a fat red hen. (This is a true story.) She had never seen this hen before and had no idea where it came from. She just watched in amazement as the hen laid an egg and then proceeded down the road. In a moment the hen was gone but an egg sat in her yard. 

What do you do under such circumstances but thank God? The next day Josephine was startled once again to hear cackling in the hedge. The red hen came by every day for over a week and repeated this routine. Each day little Rachel had a fresh boiled egg. The little girl got better, the weather improved, and Josephine's husband went back to work. "The next morning I waited by the window and watched," Josephine says, but the red hen did not return. 

God has many ways marvelous ways of taking care of His children . . .

Illustration;  
Bro. Darrell Stetler tells this story from his life: 

"I remember mother and dad telling of a incident that happened in our family when my older brothers, Dan and David, were just small. . ." 

"Dan was sitting at the table  . . . when he reached up on the table and pulled a hot bowl of soup off the table on to his lap  . . .  scalding from his chest down to about his knees . . .  everyone was frantic . . . Dan was screaming . . . They quickly removed his clothes . . .   His legs were already a bright red . . . Daddy was rushing around getting ready to go to the drug store to get something to put on the burn . . 

David, just a little boy . . . bowed his head and prayed " God please touch my brothers burn."  Within minutes Dan had stopped crying,  the redness was gone . ." 

God has some marvelous and miraculous ways of taking care of His children . . .

And I could stand here for the rest of this sermon and tell you personal stories of times . . . and how . . . God has intervened in my life and in the lives of people I know . . . as I know many of you could . . .

But, sometimes when we tell those kinds of stories . . . there is a missing element in the whole scenario . . .  I want to assure you that God CAN and OFTEN DOES do the miraculous to take care of His children . . . that is why I told you the two stories  . . . 

BUT . . .we also need to understand that  . . .God is presented in scripture as our "Parent" -- "OUR FATHER" . . .we are His Children . . . and we know - if we stop to think about it	
n	a PROPER "Father - child" relationship is not a picture of 
o	a Father who loves his children SO MUCH that he ALWAYS  gives the child everything they want . . . Who . . .
o	 ALWAYS does the miraculous to provide for and take care of his children 
o	who can be manipulated by a selfish, spoiled child to always "do it my way"  . . . 

A "good father" picture MUST include a picture of a Father who is faithful to do a WHOLE LOT  
	--of training, and correcting, 
--and prodding, and teaching,  and 
		--pushing,  and punishing and
--nurturing and modeling, 
--and giving and withholding and . . . 
--and saying "yes" and saying "no"  . . . we could go on and on . . .

     I know, as I look across this congregation . . .  there are many of you who feel like YOU 
-- need a miraculous intervention  . . . 
-- you need a miracle . . .
-- you need God to show Himself strong . . . 
-- you need God to "send along a red hen" . . .  
	-- you need God to respond to the faith of a child and change some things . . .

But I want to suggest in this message that most often God  . . .  does things like a careful, concerned, wise, PARENT  . . .  rather than a celestial gennie or . . . even like an Eternal Super Man . . .

While there may be many scriptures that we could use . . . Today we will look at Deut. 32:9-13 . . . It illustrates God's care of His children in the example of His care for Israel . . .How God works to bring about CHANGE AND MATURITY in the lives of His children . . .

Deut. 32;9  "For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. (Jacob there refers to Israel) 
He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 
As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:  . . . 
So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;"

This passage goes on to say that, in spit of all God did for Israel, they ultimately turned away from Him and turned to idols. (see Vs. 17-18) . . .  but we will save that part for another day . . .

     We will be digging into Verse 11 today.  The statement here is a picture of God's care --  Illustrated by the eagle's care for her young . . . " As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings . . .so the Lord did lead him ". . .  another translation says it like this . . .

"Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His wings . . ."  
We add to that Isa. 40:31 " But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles . . . "

. . . of course the background here is . . . Israel's 400 years of slavery . . .and their deliverance from Egypt . . . God is saying . . . 
--like an eagle teaches the little eaglets and . . .gets them out of the nest  . . .and teaches them to fly . . .
 So God "stirred up" Israel and pushed them out of the "nest" of slavery and taught them to fly in freedom . . .

What a beautiful picture of how God deals with his people!!!!  . . .
		--A mother eagle  . . .
--getting the young eagles out of the nest . . . 
--training her young to fly. 
--teaching them to be eagles . . .
In the same way the eagle deals with her young . . . God dealt with Israel . . . AND DEALS WITH US TODAY . . . Well, let's look closer. . . .  

We'll call this "God's Flight School"

This is an Illustration that GOD uses "like an eagle . . . so God leadeth"

I've heard. . .  That there are at least seven stages that a young eagle goes through when learning to fly. . . These stages are so evident in God's "training" US  . . . to live the life of a Christian . . . Those stages are going to be the basis of this message . . .

The Lord lead me to this semon that Bro. Stetler wrote before I read it or was a ware of who would be here today.  So what comes from this sermon if it relates to your life, please understand it was not from me be from GOD!

I'm going to give you the seven stages first . . . then we will come back and explain each one.  As I give them . . .  See if you recognize any of them in your life as it relates to Gods dealing in your life . . . 

The stages are . . .  1) demonstration 2) discomfort 3) danger 4) decision 5) direction change 6) doing 7) deliverance

I.  THE DEMONSTRATION STAGE

As the time draws near for a young eagle to begin flight training, the mother eagle will frequently push off from the perch where the nest is a and "hover" above her young.  When the mother eagle does this . . . The eaglets will immediately began to respond . . .   By flapping their wings wildly in imitation.  It is just something they do naturally, instinctively.

That is what verse 11 is referring to when it says, the eagle "hovers" over its young.
	-- at this stage, the eaglets do not have enough feathers to fly . . .
	-- but they are beginning to develop their wing muscles . . .
-- they are developing strength that will be absolutely necessary for an eagle.
	-- and they are developing that strength as they imitate the mother eagle.

The key word here is "demonstration"
	-- the mother eagle demonstrates flying for her young
	-- and they imitate her in response.

Do you see the spiritual lesson God Is Giving Us? . . . 
-- What a great picture of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ . . . 
-- What a great picture of what God is DOING IN OUR LIFE . . .

Matthew 1:23 tells us . . .  That Jesus Christ came to earth as "Emmanuel"  . . .  "God with us" . . .  He demonstrated the kind of life we should live.

Romans 5:8 says that "God commendeth (or demonstrates) his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Matt: 11:29 Jesus said "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Matt. 16:24 Jesus said "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

John 13:15 Jesus said, "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you."

Hebrews tell us 3:1 "  . . .  consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus."  and 12:2  "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."

Peter admonishes I Peter 2:21 "for even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps." 

Paul in Philippines 2:5 says "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."

You know, God has not left us to figure things out on our own . . . 
	-- God cared enough to give us a living demonstration . . .
	-- God gives us a model -- one to follow

And he "hovers" over us . . .  He lived before us . . .  He demonstrated to us . . . 

And everything that God brings in our lives . . . Whether it is a Trial, . . .Hurt  . . .or Correction, or Blessing, a Miracle, or maybe a Circumstance that we do not understand. . . Whatever He Brings  . . .Is Part of His Effort to Prepare Us for the Future . . .  By Getting the Us to Look at Our Example. . . . By bringing us into conformity with Jesus Christ.
-- God wants me to be like Jesus. . . . Do you want strength - Want to become a strong person . . . . ????  Spend some time CAREFULLY FOLLOWING THE PATTERN . . . !!!!

The next stage in the training of young eagles and in God training us is what we are going to call  . . . .

II.  The Discomfort Stage 

First the mother eagle . . . "Hovers over the nest . .  ." to Demonstrate . . .Then . . .
In verse 11 it says. . .  "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest . . ." 

It's one thing for those young eagles to flap their wings in the security of the down-filled homes.  It is quite another for them to  . . .
	--move to the edge,
	-- look over, and imagine stepping out on nothing  . . .
Naturally, they don't want to do it . . .  They like the security, the comfort of the nest.

BUT . . . the purpose of flapping the wings like the pattern is NOT so they can SIT IN THE NEST and flap their wings . . .  THE PURPOSE OF FLAPPING THEIR WINGS LIKE THEIR MOTHER IS SO THEY CAN LEARN TO FLY - MOVE TO THE NEXT STAGE OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT!!!!

And so, the adult eagle does something that the young eaglets WILL NOT UNDERSTAND UNTIL LATER . . . .  
	--She begins "stirring up" the nest!!!!
	-- she will actually began to poke holes through the bottom of the nest
-- she will began to tear the nest apart . . .  Making it a rather dangerous place to be
	-- she is preparing her young eagles to be FORCED TO FLY . . .
n	Remember -- -- that is the purpose of flapping the wings!!!!
n	Remember -- -- It's not that the mother eagle DOESN'T LOVE her babies - - It is that she desperately wants them to become ADULT EAGLES!!!! 
Do you get the spiritual lesson in this imagery?

Very often God's method of teaching us something ..  ..  Of getting us to where we need to be . . .  Is to STIR UP OUR NEST . . . 
	-- he has a way of making us uncomfortable
	-- we may began to be bothered about something
	-- he shakes up our comfort zone . . .
	-- we recognize something isn't right and we began to worry or get anxious.

Have you ever experienced it?
	-- a growing uneasiness inside
	-- something is out of whack and we don't quite know what it is . . .
	-- maybe it is a restlessness that we cannot explain . . .
Initially, we may try to ignore it . . . or  . . .We may tried to blame it on any number of things . . . But eventually we cry out with Job "my heart is troubled and restless."

It can be about anything that is bothering us . . .
	-- a stress in our lives -- and unfulfilled dream
	-- a relationship -- a weakness --- a fear
	-- a habit . . . an attitude . . . a hurt
And we say, 
	-- one of these days I'm going to have to start working on that . . .  Or
	-- I guess I may have to face that . . .
	-- maybe I should quit ignoring that . . .
	-- I really do need to change

The trouble is, the eaglet is reluctant to get to close to the edge of the nest; and often WE are to reluctant to move out of our comfort zone and face whatever it is!!!!

This is God . . .  Stirring up our nest.
	-- he is getting us READY FOR CHANGE
	-- he wants us to face something that we have not faced before
	-- He wants to do something special and new in our life . . .
	-- so he makes us uncomfortable . . .
Have you had God stir up your nest?
	-- perhaps he wants us to face an attitude that is not Christlike
	-- maybe it is a broken relationship he wants us to mend
	-- maybe he wants us to face our poor stewardship
	-- maybe it is a relationship he wants us to break off
	-- maybe he wants to challenge us to trust Him
-- may be he wants to change our lack of discipline
-- he may be after some hidden bitterness . . .
-- maybe it is our attitude toward success . . .
-- our worldly mindedness . . .

Whatever it is  . . . God is continually working to take us to New Heights . . . to the next level . . . . He is saying . . . Come on . . .
n	It is time to grow up
n	it's time to get out of the nest
n	you weren't made for "wing flapping" and "nest sitting"
n	it's time to sour with eagles . . . .!!!!

Remember this, whatever it is that God is trying to do in our life . . . He will keep "stirring up our nest" until we can no longer ignore Him.

You know, the sad thing is that some people live their entire lives in this "nest" stage. . . .
	-- they cling to their nest like terrified eagle chicks . . .  
	-- afraid to do anything about their problem . . .
	-- unwilling to make needed changes . . .
	-- afraid God may be asking them to do something they cannot do . . .
They would rather live with discomfort than to risk flying . . .
	-- at least the discomfort is predictable, they think . . .
	-- if I were to change, who knows what might happen????   . . . they say . . .
A lot of problems we face are the result of staying in the nest too long . . . when God is trying to boost us to the next level. . . 

Well, the next stage is . . .

3. The Danger Stage 
Eventually, in the case of eagles, the mother eagle gets all the kids out of the nest. We know that for sure. Have you ever seen a full grown eagle still perched in the nest of its parents, peeping like a baby for them to bring him something to eat? No, you haven't, because one way or the other, he gets booted out of the nest with nothing between he and the hard ground but air. He either learns to fly or falls to his death. Eagles weren't meant to be nest-sitters. They were meant to fly! This danger stage isn't mentioned directly in verse 11, but it is certainly implied. 

Now, what does that say to us? What I think it says is that God often allows a danger or a crisis to come into our lives that moves the issue we're ignoring off the back burner. He sends us a wake up call. All of a sudden the pain gets so bad we can't ignore it anymore. Suddenly we get fired or we have an accident or a serious illness. Perhaps a spouse threatens to walk out or a creditor starts foreclosure. Like the eagle's nest, the bottom falls out from under our lives and we realize we've got to do something - fast! 

It has probably happened to all of us. It happened to King David. In Psalm 119:67, it says, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Thy word." It took a crisis of affliction to show David the need to learn to keep God's word. 

If you are in a crisis right now or have had one recently, could this be the reason? Is there something you've been ignoring? 

Remember, God wants you to fly, not flutter in the nest. He wants you to grow up!
 
Well, the danger stage quickly moves us on to the next stage in our training, whether we like it or not.  It's called... 

4. The Decision Stage 

The nature of danger or a crisis is that it forces us off the fence or, to use our analogy, out of the nest. We have to decide, "Am I going to move ahead or am I going to retreat? Am I going to face this or try to run away?
 
With the nest suddenly gone out from under him and the ground coming up fast, the young eagle has a choice to make. He realizes, "I've gotta do something - Now!" So he chooses to fly or fall - to soar or smash on the rocks below - literally, to live or die. 

God often forces us to that place, have you noticed? Especially if we are reluctant to grow or pay attention to the need to grow. 

Bro. Stetler tells of another time in his life:
"In my own life 23 years ago, I was faced with a danger. I was going to lose my family - or at least have to get into a bloody court battle to hang onto part of it. My wife said, "I'm filing for divorce!" I said, "I'm becoming a Christian!" I knew my life wasn't right with God, but I was putting off making a decision. Several Christians had tried to teach me, but I was too comfortable. I was having too much fun. It took real danger to make me come to a decision."

A true Christian is much different from saying you are a Christian and living the life.  Does Jesus Christ dwell within?  Are you past sins under the Blood of Christ?  Are you free from sin?   If not, you're not a Christian!
 
If you are ignoring what you know is right like Bro Stetler was, whether you are a Christian or not, what is it going to take to get you to come to a decision?
 
Is God dealing with you right now? Is this the issue? Is it your stubbornness or neglect? When will you decide? 

The next stage is so close to the decision stage that I was tempted to put them both under the same heading, but there is a difference I need to point out, so I've called the next stage, 

5. The Direction Change Stage 

The young eagle, falling 
fast, has decided he must do something. What is it? He must change direction! He must start going up instead of down. 

When we're talking about our response to God's dealing with us, the decision stage and the direction change stage are called repentance. 

Repentance is a decision to turn away from evil and turn back to God. It takes place in the mind. In that way it is a decision, but since it is a decision to change, there will soon be a direction change that results. 

Sometimes we are reluctant to change direction. Often it is because we haven't really made a decision to change. Oh, we were sorry things were the way they were. We even cried some real tears over it. But we never really turned loose. We never really changed our minds. 

Often Christians struggle with sin. They are sorry for the struggle. They don't like the prospect of the consequences. They might even come forward in church and let the whole church know. But there is no direction change as a result. 

Paul warned us in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death." 

According to that verse, you can have two people side by side who are sorry about their sins. Looking at them, they both look like candidates for eternal life. Yet, one of them goes to heaven, the other goes to hell. The difference? One of them had a sorrow that produced repentance - a change of direction. The other was just sorry. There was no repentance. 

What are we talking about? We're talking about God teaching us to fly - to live the faith life in a way that is pleasing to Him and brings us to maturity. He uses these stages to do it: Demonstration, Discomfort, Danger, Decision, Direction Change. 

There are still two more stages before we will be competent fliers. Bear with me, they're short. The next is: 

6. The Doing Stage 

The adult eagle can teach her young to fly but she cannot fly for them. They must do it. Have you ever seen two adult eagles flying piggy-back? Neither have I. It doesn't happen. Flying takes effort on the part of each individual. 

The Bible says in Galatians 6:5, "Each on shall bear his own load..." In the realm of our learning to walk the Christian walk, we must put forth effort. The very common "do nothing" religion around us is false. It is an aberration of the devil. It is a cheap substitute for the faith of the Bible. 

Does this mean that we get to heaven on our own merits? Not at all! But God wants us to learn to fly.
 
Consider this: God often gave his blessings in Scripture while the recipients of the blessings were in the midst of obedience. 

Remember when Israel crossed the Red Sea? Moses said "Move forward!" The people obeyed. Then when the feet of the priests touched the water, it divided. 

When they crossed the Jordan on their way to the Promised land it was the same way. They moved forward, put their feet in the water, and it divided. 

When Jesus cleansed the ten lepers, he told them to go present themselves to the priest. Then, "as they were going, they were cleansed." (Luke 17:14) 

The eagle learns to fly by striving against the gravity that is pulling him down - in short, by flying. 

This sixth step of doing is critical to the young eagle's learning to fly and it is critical to our growing up in Christ. We need to get with it when it comes to doing right. It is also critical to the final step, which is called: 

7. The Deliverance Stage 

This one is beautiful and it's right in the text. Look again at verse 11: "He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions." 

I've learned 
that the adult eagle will actually swoop down and catch her falling offspring on her back and carry them back up to the home perch. What a beautiful picture of what God does for us! 

Paul told young Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:11, "What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me!" 

In Psalm 34:19 we read, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all." 

In 2 Peter 2:9, the Apostle tells us, "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation..." 

You see, God doesn't leave us to do it on our own. It's just that we must be about the doing in order for the deliverance to come. The promise of deliverance is there. We must believe it and move ahead. We must be striving to fly even if we can't quite do it yet. 

Conclusion 

Is God teaching you how to fly? If you are a Christian, there is no doubt about it! How is your personal "flight school" going? Are you cooperating or copping out? 

Have you seen any or all of these stages of God's flight school in your life? You can be sure they are there now or will be there soon. 

What is your attitude toward them? Are you focused on the goal of being able to go "solo" or are you clinging to the comfort of the nest? Be sure that God will stir it up if you are reluctant. 

And maybe, just maybe, you've wondered what is going on in the midst of all this. Maybe you've had some rough times recently and haven't been able to figure out why. Perhaps now you have your answer. 

Be sure of these things: 
	God does want you to learn to fly. 	
	He will put you through flight school. 	
	You can ignore it, but it won't stop the process. 	
	You can resist it, but it won't stop the process. 	
	You can cooperate and learn to fly for Him! 	

Will you pray with me? 

Lord, thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for not giving up on us even when we have not cooperated with You. I pray that You will help us see Your hand in our lives - even in the details. When we can't see those details, I ask that you would strengthen us to trust You. Father, if there are people here this morning who don't know You or who have known You but for whatever reason have turned aside, I pray you would help them to see You clearly now. Draw them near to You I pray. Use this message, if it pleases You, to draw all of us to you. Thank You. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.