Fatal Flaws

On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, bound for the Dominican Republic from New York’s JFK International Airport, crashed into the New York City suburb of Belle Harbor, killing 269 people. The tragedy, coming only 2 months and 1 day after the terrorists’ attacks of September 11, brought even more fear and questions to an already shaken America…and throughout the world.

The big question: Who was responsible for this new act of terrorism? So soon after 9/11, a world stood watching, positive that the downing of Flight 587 was another evil act perpetrated by the enemies of the United States of America. “Surely this was an act of terrorism!” the people cried. And, with this supposed act of terrorism, 269 innocent lives were lost.

Men…women…children…fathers…mothers…husbands…wives: lives ended by the senseless act of madmen! A nation mourned.

Many months would pass as the National Transportation and Safety Board looked into the crash of Flight 587. The preliminary findings would startle and, in some cases, disappoint a nation. Flight 587 had NOT been a victim of terrorism! That much was SURE! American Airlines Flight 587 had been a victim of a FATAL FLAW!

Preliminary reports showed a severe flaw in the part of the tail section of the plane known as the VERTICAL STABILIZER. This VS broke away and dropped into the harbor, causing the Airbus A300-600 to immediately lose control, crashing into the New York City suburb.

A similar incident occurred July 17, 1996 in East Moriches, New York. TWA Flight 800 exploded minutes after taking off from JFK International Airport. The following is an excerpt from an article written by Chris Kilroy entitled “Special Report: Trans World Airlines Flight 800”, written for Airdisaster.com.

“Early indications suggested that the airliner had been blown out of the sky by a bomb or a ground to air missile. But as the investigation progressed, this theory, for which clear evidence was lacking, receded. Another theory, with serious ramifications for the entire Boeing 747 fleet of more than 1000 aircraft, focused on the possibility that the fuel vapor in the center fuel tank ignited after it had become overheated. If this was indeed what happened, it meant that the tragedy could be repeated.”

“TWA Flight 800, on a scheduled service to Paris, was delayed at JFK for nearly 3 hours due to mechanical problems. The center tank was virtually empty for the trans-Atlantic flight, most of the fuel having been pumped into the wing tanks. In the sweltering July temperatures, fuel vapor would have built up above the Kerosene to a temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature at which this volatile fuel would ignite with the slightest spark.”

“The aircraft finally took off and began to climb to its cruising height as it flew east over Long Island. Weather conditions were near perfect. Passengers were just settling down for the long flight when, as the aircraft ascended through 13,700 feet, a huge explosion blew away a large part of the fuselage below the leading edge of the wings. The stricken 747 plunged 5000 feet before a second explosion sealed its fate. The aircraft disintegrated, and less than 15 minutes after they had left New York, all 230 people on board were dead.”

Two airline crashes: two horrible tragedies. Both of these incidents were first thought to be acts of terrorism, but, in the final analysis, the apparent cause of these two disasters was due to one issue: a FATAL FLAW!

Coming to grips with reality can be a hard issue. It seems easier to believe that these two horrible accidents were caused by something else. It had to be caused by terrorists! Somebody ELSE has to be blamed here! We struggle with the fact that these two tragedies were PREVENTABLE. But no one recognized the FATAL FLAW that would eventually leave families broken and lives scarred by events that could have been avoided. If only someone had known! If only the flaws had been corrected before they horribly surfaced with such tragic consequences!

Yet, today we exist under some of the same assumptions of safety and tranquility that filled the lives of so many who would, within an instant, PERISH from the face of the earth, none being aware of the fatal flaw that would end so many hopes and dreams. Too often, we are unconcerned with obvious signs of trouble, even to the point of dismissing those signs as unimportant. And, when trouble comes, it is easier to believe that the cause of the problem lies WITHOUT…not from WITHIN.

Just as with American Airlines Flight 587 and TWA Flight 800, we are so ready to blame an outside source for our troubles when MAYBE the true enemy is some deep-rooted FATAL FLAW. These FATAL FLAWS wreak havoc in our world, in our country, in our cities, in our schools, in our homes, in our churches, and in our personal lives.

In our SCHOOLS, we have replaced:

1. Creation with Evolution
2. Prayer with Condoms
3. Discipline with Ritalin

In our COUNTRY, we have called:

1. Abortion a “woman’s choice”
2. Homosexuality a “sexual preference” or a “birth trait”
3. Christian truth “intolerance”

In our CHURCH:

1. Bible reading and study is almost NONEXISTENT
2. Prayer is only a suggestion…which most only do when they are in NEED (or WANT)
3. Tithing is an OPTION
4. Sin is just a “MISTAKE”
5. Obedience to God is now labeled “LEGALISM”
6. Truth is taught along side FALSE DOCTRINE
7. Repentance is considered “UNNECESSARY”
8. Grace is defined as LICENSE TO FREELY SIN WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES

In OURSELVES, we seek:

1. SECURITY over SANCTIFICATION
2. FINANCIAL GAIN over FAITHFUL GROWTH
3. COMMUNITY with each other over COMMUNION with God
4. SELF worth over GOD’S worth
5. CONTENTMENT over CONSECRATION
6. HAPPINESS over HOLINESS

These, I submit to you, are FATAL FLAWS!

FATAL FLAWS: hidden faults that can lie dormant for months and years without surfacing or without consequences. They are beliefs, thoughts, and/or actions which we fail to realize are CONTRARY to the WORD of God and the WILL of God.

These FATAL FLAWS are often misdiagnosed. Why?

Because it is much easier to blame an OUTWARD source for our troubles than to seek out the root of the INWARD source. In the Church, they are often labeled as “attacks of Satan.” We blame Satan for the mess we find ourselves in, not willing to recognize that we have allowed our FATAL FLAWS to remain within us and, thus, they have brought us to points and places we NEVER INTENDED to be! In blaming Satan, WE are not responsible! If SATAN is to blame…then WE are justified in our eyes! We are just “victims”…and we are not responsible!

In Matthew 7:21-27, Jesus said "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

A FATAL FLAW is the equivalent of building on the sand!

Today, the Church seems oblivious to the FATAL FLAWS within its walls.

-Sin is rampant.

-False doctrine and false teaching are espoused SIDE BY SIDE with the truth of God’s Word.

-The “law of ATTRACTION” has taken precedence over the “law of ATONEMENT.”

-Our Biblical VALUES have been DEVALUED.

-We have shifted our focus from SALVATION (seeing people as SAVED or UNSAVED) to CHURCH (seeing people as CHURCHED or UNCHURCHED).

-Success is measured by ATTENDANCE rather than OBEDIENCE.

-An EARTHLY focus has overwhelmed any ETERNAL focus.

-God has become little more than an OBSERVER in our PAGEANTRY and PERFORMANCES.

2 Timothy 2:1-7

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

We find ourselves in “perilous times”. We now live in a 2 Timothy 2:1-7 world.

But, notice in the passage quoted earlier…Matthew 7:21-27.…that the FATAL FLAW never appears until the STORM comes. I imagine the two OUTWARDLY identical houses. Yet, the STORM would reveal the FOUNDATION of each house: one built on the ROCK…the other constructed on the SAND. And…the passage doesn’t say IF the storms come…the passage says they DID come!

Church…Christians…we are now in the storm! We are assaulted on every side…in every possible way!

I urge you to remember the two main battle fronts by which Satan is attacking: POLITICAL and SPIRITUAL. We see this truth manifested in the last days with the rise of an ANTICHRIST (Political) and a FALSE PROPHET (Spiritual).

Politically...truth is being attacked. God’s Word is being disgraced and maligned. With every passing year, our nation ceases to build on the ROCK. God and His Word are being escorted out of every facet of America. Slowly…but with ever increasing speed…society is NO LONGER based on the timeless truth of God’s Word. We are in dire straits!

Spiritually...the Church has been so infiltrated by Satan through false teaching and false doctrine that the truth of God’s Word has become almost unrecognizable! Every whim of doctrine is being allowed in pulpits across America…and the poison is slowly destroying the Body of Christ. Weakened, the Church is giving in…tired of even fighting the “good fight”…failing to “defend the faith”.

POLITICALLY and SPIRITUALLY…we are in MANSIONS…but they are MANSIONS BUILT ON THE SAND!

I end with the words of George Barna…from his book “The Second Coming of the Church”:

“This is a call for us to stop playing church and start being the church…The only power that can cleanse and restore this nation is the power of Christ. And the primary way in which that power is to be manifested is by Christ’s followers serving God and humanity by being the Church--that is, the true representation of Jesus Christ….Faith used to revolve around God and His ordinances and principles; the faith that arrests our attention these days is that which revolves around us. We have demystified God, befriended Jesus, abandoned the Holy Spirit, and forgiven and even warmed up to Satan. Few Americans possess a sense of awe, fear, or trembling related to God…To increasing millions of Americans, God…exists for the pleasure of mankind…What we need is true spiritual renewal--a transformation that goes well beyond mere evangelistic outreach. We desperately need a holistic revolution of mind, heart, and spirit.”

It is time that we RECOGNIZE and REPAIR our FATAL FLAWS with PRAYER and REPENTANCE…before these FATAL FLAWS bring sudden destruction. We have wallowed in “permissive will”…assuming that we are “OK” since God has not sent JUDGMENT. It is time that we return to the WILL OF GOD…that we “seek His face” instead of always seeking His hand. It is time the modern SELFISH “gospel” is forever BANISHED from the pulpits of churches all across America. FATAL FLAWS will not be fixed in our own strength! We must take a stand…by kneeling before God.

Pray…”without ceasing.”

In Christ,

Ron