Shield Of Faith
JULY 16 MARKS the anniversary of the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and Carolyn's sister, Lauren, who perished on their way to Martha's Vineyard, when their plane, piloted by Kennedy, crashed.
The National Transportation Safety Board, after a lengthy investigation, concluded that Kennedy suffered from spatial disorientation, a condition that arises from a loss of balance in the inner ear and causes confusion. Kennedy's problems were exacerbated by the hazy night sky and his inability to see the horizon. The NTSB also said investigators did not find any mechanical problems with Kennedy's plane, a Piper Saratoga II.
NTSB Identification: NYC99MA178
Date:16 July 1999
Location: Vineyard Haven, MA
Aircraft: Piper PA-32R-301 (Saratoga), registration: N9253N
The non-instrument-rated pilot obtained weather forecasts for a cross-country flight from Caldwell, NJ to Hyannis, MA with a stop in Martha's Vineyard, MA. The forecast indicated visual flight rules (VFR) conditions with clear skies and visibilities that varied between 4 to 10 miles along his intended route. The pilot then departed on a dark night. According to radar data, about 34 miles west of Martha's Vineyard Airport, while crossing a 30-mile stretch of water to its destination, the airplane began a descent that varied between 400 to 800 feet per minute (fpm). About 7 miles from the approaching shore, the airplane began a right turn. The airplane stopped its descent at 2,200 feet, then climbed back to 2,600 feet and entered a left turn. While in the left turn, the airplane began another descent that reached about 900 fpm. While still in the descent, the airplane entered a right turn. During this turn, the airplane's rate of descent, eventually exceeded 4,700 fpm, and the airplane struck the water in a nose-down attitude. Airports along the coast reported visibilities between 5 and 8 miles. Other pilots flying similar routes on the night of the accident reported no visual horizon while flying over the water because of haze.
The pilot's estimated total flight experience was about 310 hours, of which 55 hours were at night. The pilot's estimated flight time in the accident airplane was about 36 hours, of which about 9.4 hours were at night. About 3 hours of that time was without a certified flight instructor (CFI) on board, and about 0.8 hour of that was flown at night and included a night landing. In the 15 months before the accident, the pilot had flown either to or from the destination area about 35 times. The pilot flew at least 17 of these flight legs without a CFI on board, of which 5 were at night. Within 100 days before the accident, the pilot had completed about 50 percent of a formal instrument-training course. A Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular (AC) 61-27C, "Instrument Flying: Coping with Illusions in Flight," states that illusions or false impressions occur when information provided by sensory organs is misinterpreted or inadequate and that many illusions in flight could be caused by complex motions and certain visual scenes encountered under adverse weather conditions and at night. The AC also states that some illusions might lead to spatial disorientation or the inability to determine accurately the altitude or motion of the aircraft in relation to the earth's surface. The AC further states that spatial disorientation, as a result of continued VFR flight into adverse weather conditions, is regularly near the top of the cause/factor list in annual statistics on fatal aircraft accidents. According to AC 60-4A, "Pilot's Spatial Disorientation," tests conducted with qualified instrument pilots indicated that it can take as long as 35 seconds to establish full control by instruments after a loss of visual reference of the earth's surface. AC 60-4A further states that surface references and the natural horizon may become obscured even though visibility may be above VFR minimums and that an inability to perceive the natural horizon or surface references is common during flights over water, at night, in sparsely populated areas, and in low-visibility conditions. Examination of the airframe, systems, avionics, and engine did not reveal any evidence of a pre-impact mechanical malfunction.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
q The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation. Factors in the accident were haze, and the dark night.
The AC further states that the most hazardous illusions that lead to spatial disorientation are created by information received from motion sensing systems, which are located in each inner ear. The AC also states that the sensory organs in these systems detect angular acceleration in the pitch, yaw, and roll axes, and a sensory organ detects gravity and linear acceleration and that, in flight, the motion sensing system may be stimulated by motion of the aircraft alone or in combination with head and body movement. The AC lists some of the major illusions leading to spatial disorientation as follows:
q The leans - A banked attitude, to the left for example, may be entered too slowly to set in motion the fluid in the 'roll' semicircular tubes. An abrupt correction of this attitude can now set the fluid in motion and so create the illusion of a banked attitude to the right. The disoriented pilot may make the error of rolling the aircraft back into the original left-banked attitude or, if level flight is maintained, will feel compelled to lean to the left until this illusion subsides.
q Coriolis illusion - An abrupt head movement made during a prolonged constant-rate turn may set the fluid in more than one semicircular tube in motion, creating the strong illusion of turning or accelerating, in an entirely different axis. The disoriented pilot may maneuver the aircraft into a dangerous attitude in an attempt to correct this illusory movement....
q Graveyard spiral - In a prolonged coordinated, constant-rate turn, the fluid in the semicircular tubes in the axis of the turn will cease its movement...An observed loss altitude in the aircraft instruments and the absence of any sensation of turning may create the illusion of being in a descent with the wings level. The disoriented pilot may pull back on the controls, tightening the spiral and increasing the loss of altitude....
q Inversion illusion - An abrupt change from climb to straight-and-level flight can excessively stimulate the sensory organs for gravity and linear acceleration, creating the illusion of tumbling backwards. The disoriented pilot may push the aircraft abruptly into a nose-low attitude, possibly intensifying this illusion.
q Elevator illusion - An abrupt upward vertical acceleration, as can occur in a helicopter or an updraft, can shift vision downwards (visual scene moves upwards) through excessive stimulation of the sensory organs for gravity and linear acceleration, creating the illusion of being in a climb. The disoriented pilot may push the aircraft into a nose low attitude. An abrupt downward vertical acceleration, usually in a downdraft, has the opposite effect, with the disoriented pilot pulling the aircraft into a nose-up attitude....
q Autokinesis - In the dark, a stationary light will appear to move about when stared at for many seconds. The disoriented pilot could lose control of the aircraft in attempting to align it with the false movements of this light."
The AC also states that these undesirable sensations cannot be completely prevented but that they can be ignored or sufficiently suppressed by pilots' developing an "absolute" reliance upon what the flight instruments are reporting about the attitude of their aircraft. The AC further states that practice and experience in instrument flying are necessary to aid pilots in discounting or overcoming false sensations.
Further, the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3, chapter 10, states the following about night flying and its affect on spatial orientation:
"Night flying requires that pilots be aware of, and operate within, their abilities and limitations. Although careful planning of any flight is essential, night flying demands more attention to the details of preflight preparation and planning. Preparation for a night flight should include a thorough review of the available weather reports and forecasts with particular attention given to temperature/dewpoint spread. A narrow temperature/dewpoint spread may indicate the possibility of ground fog. Emphasis should also be placed on wind direction and speed, since its effect on the airplane cannot be as easily detected at night as during the day...Night flying is very different from day flying and demands more attention of the pilot. The most noticeable difference is the limited availability of outside visual references.
Therefore, flight instruments should be used to a greater degree in controlling the airplane. Under no circumstances should a VFR night-flight be made during poor or marginal weather conditions unless both the pilot and aircraft are certificated and equipped for flight under...IFR...Crossing large bodies of water at night in single-engine airplanes could be potentially hazardous, not only from the standpoint of landing (ditching) in the water, but also because with little or no lighting the horizon blends with the water, in which case, depth perception and orientation become difficult. During poor visibility conditions over water, the horizon will become obscure, and may result in a loss of orientation. Even on clear nights, the stars may be reflected on the water surface, which could appear as a continuous array of lights, thus making the horizon difficult to identify."
According to AC 60-4A, "Pilot's Spatial Disorientation," tests conducted with qualified instrument pilots indicated that it can take as long as 35 seconds to establish full control by instruments after a loss of visual reference of the earth's surface. AC 60-4A further states that surface references and the natural horizon may become obscured even though visibility may be above VFR minimums and that an inability to perceive the natural horizon or surface references is common during flights over water, at night, in sparsely populated areas, and in low-visibility conditions.
A book titled, Night Flying, by Richard Haines and Courtney Flatau, provides some additional information concerning vertigo and disorientation. It states the following:
"Vestibular disorientation refers to the general feeling that one's flight path isn't correct in some way. By calling this effect vestibular, it emphasizes the role played by the middle ear's balance organ. Flying an uncoordinated turn produces this effect as does excessive head turning during a turn in flight. Vestibular disorientation is often subtle in its onset, yet it is the most disabling and dangerous of all disorientation."
The saddest part of this whole story is that it was needless, the tragedy accentuated by what is needless.
1. Gaining Your Instrument Rating
It could be reported many times over in the spiritual realm. The people whose faith flights go down full speed crashing all the time, thinking that they are on a normal flight path in proper attitude to the earth around them. Then suddenly – too late they meet the ground coming at them and it’s too late to make the correction to consult the instruments. It’s over.
Faith drives us to what we can trust beyond our perceptions and sensations. It is “instrument rating” for the Christain who is now prepared to navigate the storms and the confusion and complexities of life. We encounter many deceptive perspectives that can be fatal for the Christian.
2 Corinthians 5: 7 We live by faith, not by sight.
So the shield of faith or faith’s shield is the trustworthy guidance system. It provides direction and protection for the things in life that would lead us to destruction or devastation.
It begins with the acceptance of the fact that:
q There is spiritual reality that has eternal consequence in my life.
q I cannot possibly navigate on physical senses and instinct. I must be willing to disavow my own instincts as the main guidance system. The instinct to react or correct or to steer in a certain direction may be loud and overpowering but deadly. It may sound very spiritual and yet not be reliable. Christians are famous for conducting their own affairs, claiming divine guidance when it is nothing more than their own plans and agendas.
q I have to learn to trust something more reliable than my instincts. I have to become instrument rated. The Bible and the guidance that comes through the flight instructor is essential. I have to have connection to the tower.
q A person’s faith is not something that grows within them independent of other things. It is merely a response to a person’s personal revelation of God, to the love of God . . . nothing more or less. Our faith is great or small as our understanding of God is great or small. Lord help us to hear your voice.
It Can Be Done
The ones who miss all the fun
Are those who say, "It can't be done."
In solemn pride they stand aloof
And greet each venture with reproof.
Had they the power they'd efface
The history of the human race.
We'd have no radio or motor cars,
No street lit by electric stars;
No telegraph nor telephone,
We'd linger in the age of stone.
The world would sleep if things were run
By those who say, "It can't be done."
2. Wield The Shield
That boy doesn’t have sense enough to come in out of the rain. I wonder if God ever looks at us, shakes his head and wonders why we don’t take advantage of the provision that He has given for our spiritual well being. We cower and cave before a defeated foe. Rather than the cry of victory that Christ has already won, we have the whines, the wails and the woes of people who are being abused by a defeated foe. We think that he is bigger and badder than he is. God does not want us to focus on him but to focus beyond him – he can do you no harm unless he can make you believe that he has power over you.
Have you stopped to count the blessings in your life lately? Many of us have a tendency to focus on what's wrong, which gives us a distorted picture of life -- as Barry Siegel shows.
Consider what some scientists predict.
If everyone keeps stacking National Geographics in garages and attics instead of throwing them away, the magazines' weight will sink the continent 100 feet sometime soon and we will all be inundated by the oceans.
If the number of microscope specimen slides submitted to one St. Louis hospital lab continues to increase at its current rate, that metropolis will be buried under three feet of glass by the year 2224.
If beachgoers keep returning home with as much sand clinging to them as they do now, 80% of the country's coastline will disappear in 10 years....
[They have also] reported the striking discovery that pickles cause cancer, communism, airline tragedies, auto accidents and crime waves. About 99.9% of cancer victims had eaten pickles sometime in their lives.... So have 100% of all soldiers, 96.8% of communist sympathizers and 99.7% of those involved in car and air accidents. Moreover, those born in 1839 who ate pickles have suffered a 100% mortality rate. And rats force-fed 20 pounds of pickles a day for a month ended up with bulging abdomens and loss of appetite.
-- Barry Siegel, "World May End With a Splash,"
Los Angeles Times, October 9, 1982
[ The purpose of the armor is to protect myself from the attacks of the devil and ultimately to take my stand against him.
[ He is an encroacher. He will take your territory inch by inch, gaining squatter’s rights.
Adverse possession, commonly known as "Squatters Rights", is possession of land which is open, notorious, continuous and exclusive that commenced and continues without the owner's consent. Where such possession has occurred on Crown land, has continued for a period of twenty (20) consecutive years or more prior to January 1, 1977, and has remained continuous since that date to the present time, the Crown's ownership is subject to statutory rights acquired by the adverse possessor who may be eligible to receive a title under the Quieting of Titles or the Lands Act.
Our refusal to oppose the encroachment is consent or permission.
The scripture says that faith shields us from the “fiery darts” of the wicked. There are times when people shoot at us and they are not the enemy. We need to protect ourselves from harm and hurt and yet remember that the real stand is against the real enemy. Just as God calls people to serve Him so the devil uses people as well. He uses Christian people. They fall, duped into his schemes, used beyond their knowledge many times, to retard the progress of the armies of God and to hurt his cause. Other times they are only too available to him, in self righteousness, believing that they are serving God’s purposes and they turn on one another, shooting wounded soldiers or using excessive violence – guilty of war crimes if you will.
Lingering doubt
Lustful desires - Romans 1:27
If for a minute the devil can cause us to close the connection then we are at his mercy. A living, dynamic faith is unconquerable. The challenge is always to remain calm and undisturbed by his raging.
He is gone, but his works survive. His manuscript Temptation is one of the best I've ever read on the subject. Bonhoeffer's vivid description of our tendency to turn off the warnings when sin's allurements wink at us needs to be declared to every generation:
In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All at once a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money, or, finally, that strange desire for the beauty of the world, of nature. Joy in God is... extinguished in us and we seek all our joy in the creature.
At this moment God is quite unreal to us, he loses all reality, and only desire for the creature is real; the only reality is the devil. Satan does not here fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God. And now his falsehood is added to this proof of strength. The lust thus aroused envelopes the mind and will of man in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us. The questions present themselves: "Is what the flesh desires really sin in this case?" "Is it really not permitted to me, yes -- expected of me, now, here, in my particular situation, to appease desire?" The tempter puts me in a privileged position as he tried to put the hungry Son of God in a privileged position. I boast of my privilege against God.
It is here that everything within me rises up against the Word of God.
[ Shield is either up or down. If it hurts, they’re down. If you’re ready to take revenge on someone else, they’re down and you lowered them. If the devil can make you mad enough at another person, he knows that he can get you to drop the shield and then you are vulnerable to his attack.
It’s one thing to be struck – another to deal with the ongoing damage of the strike. The wound itself may be minor but the after effect can sometimes be lethal.
Faith will not stop the impact of attack but can help prevent the long term effects.
[ He is s sniper – he waits for us to drop the shield from a false sense of security or to lower it from weariness.
q If it hurts then you’re probably not using the shield. Bitterness causes people to look for a better shield – one that won’t let the possibility of any hurts through. Looking for four walls without light or windows in which you will wither away and die or become some strange recluse. A Michael Jackson or a Howard Hughes.
q If you are especially beaten and battered by specific temptation. You are repeatedly getting hit in the same place. You can become enamored with the one who is inflicting pain and damage. You can admire his bow and keep sneaking peeks because you are not willing to accept him as an enemy. You don’t see him in the desires that make you lower the shileds – like the sirens in the story of the Odyssey.
q If bitterness is in your heart then the shield is down. If you can feel the flames – not the heat but the flames. The flame has somehow seeped through the shield because it has lost it’s “anointing”.
There are two basic kinds of shields that were used in bible times
[ Metal
It was a usual practice to anoint shields, and other pieces of armor, partly that they might be smooth and slippery, so the darts of the enemy might easily slide off; and partly for the polishing and brightening of them, being of metal, especially of brass.
So it follows that our faith as a shield must be anointed to maintain the ability to throw off Satan’s attacks and to maintain the attractiveness of the Christ life.- (The shine).
[ Wood covered with leather hides.
q The anointing was to keep them from becoming hard and brittle and cracking. (The anointing keeps our faith fresh and useful and flexible, When faith loses flexibility it loses the capacity to expand to cover and protect. Many people have been defeated because they would not allow their faith to be challenged and to expand beyond past experiences.)
q The anointing speaks of refreshing. It was customary in bible times when travelers came to your home, to anoint their heads and wash their feet: This was a time of refreshing for them. Lu 7:44-46 Jesus said: You gave me no water for my feet and my head with oil thou didst not anoint. (When our faith is freshly anointed it keeps us in a state of freshness, and vitality).
q The anointing speaks of Gladness and Joy: Heb 1:9 Thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. When our faith as a shield, is anointed it will bring a freshness to our lives, a vitality a Joy a gladness.
You may have a faith that you cling to, a profession an association a religious belief system you recognize as your faith.
But is your faith anointed? Is your shield anointed? Is your faith fresh and attractive and flexible and producing joy and gladness in your life?
There is no victory without faith, and your faith must be anointed to be effective. Churches are filled today with professing Christians clinging to their dryed out, brittle shriveled up and cracked shields.
Claiming to believe everything the bible says but not willing to be stretched beyond what they know.
If you are already casting out devils healing the sick raising the dead and cleansing the lepers opening blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears and making the lame to walk, maybe you don’t need this message (But for the rest of us: (We need our faith to be freshly anointed).
(Lord help me to see the higher, practical issue here that will engage the average person, who sits in the pew. Perhaps the sermon can be layered to speak to people at whatever place they are prepared to listen . . .and then by listening they will hunger for a greater understanding. Perhaps they could begin to see the Word differently, understanding that the principles there are for the everyday person and that there are helpful insights for them.)
Faith takes the blows and allows the evil intent to burn itself out without harm to the one sheltered by it. Cast all your cares upon Him because he cares for you . . .
3. Putting Out Fires
You can’t ignore the smoke or the smell of something burning. Where there is smoke there is normally fire. If something is over heating then that means that there is a problem. Ignored long enough there will be disaster.
What are the things that burn within us unless they are extinguished.
[ Bitterness – unresolved offense (wound), harbored hurt – forgiveness is a choice
[ Lack of forgiveness
[ Lingering doubt
[ Envy – living in a state of frustrated wanting wondering why others have and you don’t (unresolved want) – contentment – wanting what you have
[ Lust – learning to look away – self-control
It is my faith in God and who He says it is that keeps me from exacting my own revenge. I realize that the poor person who attacks me will ultimately have to face something much more severe than my own wrath, the wrath of God.
It is my faith in God that allows me to swallow my pride and bite my tongue knowing that there is nothing to be gained in my winning an argument even when I know myself to be right because in truth no one ever wins an argument. A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. I can be still because I know that God elevates those who bow the knee.
It is my faith that causes me to forgive the one who has greatly offended me because I am daily reminded that I have offended God – often, deliberately, repeatedly and never have I known anything of Him but inexhaustible, undeserved forgiveness because He is relentlessly committed to my salvation. He is Divinely determined, Providentially preoccupied, Cosmically consumed, Omnipotently obsessed with my knowing Him fully, finally and forever.
It is my faith that compels me to reign in every wild thought that cannot be allowed to roam unfettered and I capture it and make it obedient to the will of God. It makes me tear my eyes away from things that would ignite me to lust after anyone but my wife and I do lust after her, believing that God has given her to me as a blessing and the object of my desire.
What are the implications for the Christian?
q Realize that this problem will impair or destroy your ability to function as a Christian. It will eliminate the possibility that you can fellowship with God. There will be personal consequences to your life if you turn away from God to VFR.
q Every bit of victory that we experience in the spiritual realm comes from my relationship to God and my maneuvering to a closer position to God. I cannot under any circumstances lower my shields to extinguish the flame.
q It’s impossible to take a hit with shields down and not sustain damage. The only hope that the enemy has is to get you to lower your shields
q The shields are not raised and sustained by human effort. It has nothing to do with your strength but everything to do with your awareness. It’s when we lose consciousness of the fact that we are at war or when our instincts want to wrestle control of the airplane from what the instruments are telling us and we want to resort to VFR.
Faith is trusting what the eye cannot see. Eyes see the prowling lion. Faith sees Daniel's angel. Eyes see storms. Faith sees Noah's rainbow. Eyes see giants. Faith sees Canaan. Your eyes see your faults. Your faith sees your Savior. Your eyes see your guilt. Your faith sees your blood. Your eyes see your grave. Your faith sees a city whose builder and maker is god. Your eyes look in the mirror and see a sinner, a failure, a promise-breaker. But by faith you look in the mirror and see a robed prodigal bearing the ring of grace on your finger and the kiss of your Father on your face.
But wait a minute someone asks. How do I know this is true? Nice prose but give me the facts. How do I know these aren't just fanciful hopes? Part of the answer can be found in little Sara's leaps of faith. Her older sister Andrea, was in the room watching and I asked Sara if she would jump to Andrea. Sara refused. I tried to convince her. She wouldn't budge. "Why not?" I asked. "I only jump to big arms." If we think the arms are weak we won't jump.
The brethren asked Abba Agathon, "Amongst all our different activities, Father, which is the virtue that requires the greatest effort?"
He answered, "Forgive me, but I think there is no labor greater than praying to God. For every time a man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, try to prevent him; for they know that nothing obstructs them so much as prayer to God. In everything else that a man undertakes, if he perseveres, he will attain rest. But in order to pray, a man must struggle to his last breath."
-- The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (sixth century). "Eastern Orthodoxy," Christian History, no. 54.
There is a fable which tells of three apprentice devils who were coming to this earth to finish their apprenticeship. They were talking to Satan, the chief of the devils, about their plans to tempt and ruin men. The first said, "I will tell them there is no God." Satan said, "That will not delude many, for they know that there is a God." The second said, "I will tell men there is no hell." Satan answered, "You will deceive no one that way; men know even now that there is a hell for sin." The third said, "I will tell men there is no hurry." "Go," said Satan, "and you will ruin them by the thousand." The most dangerous of all delusions is that there is plenty of time. The most dangerous day in a man's life is when he learns that there is such a word as tomorrow. There are things which must not be put off, for no man knows if for him tomorrow will ever come.
The world is full of people who have lost faith: politicians who have lost faith in politics, social workers who have lost faith in social work, schoolteachers who have lost faith in teaching and, for all I know, policemen who have lost faith in policing and poets who have lost faith in poetry. It's a condition of faith that it gets lost from time to time, or at least mislaid.
-- P.D. James Faith takes the blows and allows the evil intent to burn itself out without harm to the one sheltered by it. Cast all your cares upon Him because he cares for you . . .
