BANNER OF PRAISE MINISTRIES
Rev. Dr. Levi Howard Wright, Pastor & Founder
Sermon preached 31 May 2007
TEXT: Isaiah 40:28-31 “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 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.”
“DON’T YOU KNOW HAVEN’T YOU HEARD.”
KEY VERSE: God asked the prophet Isaiah,…. “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary.” (Isaiah 40:28a)
INTRODUCTION
Human strength will never be adequate for facing all of life’s challenges and difficulties. No matter who you are or how much will power you may have, you will always encounter situations in life that you just cannot manager by yourself.
In our text the Prophet Isaiah gives us a special promise of God’s strength during the times of our weakness.
Isaiah teaches us that…. people… who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength… they shall mount up with wings like eagles… they shall run and not be weary… they shall walk and not faint.
Can you imagine or picture a person growing wings like an eagle and soaring on the Lord’s strength… rather than on their own strength… going the whole distance while other people are dropping like flies on every side.
No matter what you are going through or facing… you must wait on the Lord and trust Him for strength to conquer all your life’s challenges!
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard?.....
The Lord want us to understand that there is no lack of strength in Him.
You may not have much of a prayer life, but the Lord says,…. “Has thou not known?”
In other words… you should have known that the Lord will take care of you.
The Bible says that the everlasting God, The Creator of the universe, is all powerful.
He has brought us through many dangerous toils and snares.
So don’t let Satan deceive you into thinking that it was… merely luck or coincidence that delivered you.
We must… Remember what God has done for us….
If you can’t seem to remember anything He has done for you personally, then look around at others who have been blessed and delivered out of situations worse than yours.
Look and see what God did for them and tell yourself, “If He can do it for them…, I know He can do it for me.”
God’s divine love and power brought them through, and He will do the same for you.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard...
God have all the strength that is necessary to escalate… and motivate and ….move you up …. and out of your circumstances, because …. He is the Master of all Situations.”
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. There is nothing to hard and impossible for God…
What makes you think your circumstance is beyond the Lord’s ability?
What causes you to believe that you can’t get up…. when God is always willing to help you back on your feet…. when you have fallen?
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. God can give you victory.
Everyone who puts their trust in God will overcomes… because there is no limit to God’s resources.
God is omnipotent…. He’s all powerful.
If you’re Hungry… He has cattle on a thousand hills… The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.
If you’re Thirsty … He will give you Water from a stream of Living Water that will never run dry.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. God has His eyes on the sparrows and has numbered the hairs on your head.
You can be assured that the Lord knows the way that you need to take in times of trouble.
When it’s all over…. you will come forth as pure gold.
God wants to show you…., even more than your desire to know,…. that He is able to save to the uttermost.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. God is strong in power…. and He cannot fail.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. God is not only all powerful… He is also the only Almighty God.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. the Lord is well able to perform whatever… He has spoken and promised.
I. WE MUST LEARNING TO LEAN AND DEPEND ON HE LORD
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. we need to learn to lean and depend on the Lord.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that many Christians go through life as born again citizens of the kingdom of God….and still live defeated and unfulfilled lives…. having no purpose or meaning.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that the Lord want us to lean on Him.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. Some Christians refuse to take advice and cannot be told anything.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. Some Christians may like the pastor’s preaching…. and may even give generously to the church,…. but when it comes down to letting God altering their snug and comfortable lifestyle,… they balk and freeze up.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. Some Christians prefer to lean on their own understanding…. subconsciously thinking and believing that …. they are smarter than God.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that God has the Master Plan already worked out,… but so many of us live in rebellion against God’s Word,… which clearly commands, that we should…
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5,6)
“There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end therefore are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that instead of traveling the road of destruction, you can take the righteous alternative, which is the counsel of God.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. If you want to be victorious in all your endeavors,… then don’t lean on your own understanding or to your own devices.
Instead, in all your ways acknowledge the Lord, and he will direct your path.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that if you seek the Word of the Lord about everything that concern you,….you will be like the great warrior Joshua and have good success.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. If you want to profit and be successful in life,…. You must develop an attitude and the habit of inquiring of the Lord and you will never fail.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that you must turn from your wick ways and acknowledge the Lord and he will direct your path.
2. THE LORD WILL RENEWED STRENGTH
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that the Lord give power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth their strength. (Isaiah 40:29)
In other words, He is saying, “I won’t kill you because you fainted.
I give power to the faint.” When you start losing the strength you once had,… you are fainting.
When you can hardly stand up, and you begin to stagger in the clinch of sin, lust and strife, God declares, “I give power to the faint!”
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that the Lord Said, “I give power, not to the person who is standing strong, but to the one who is swaying on wobbly knees.
I give power to the faint.” To those who have no might, He said, “I will increase their strength..”
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that the Lord said, “If you looked inside yourself and cannot muster the strength to get up, God says, “ I will increase your strength.”
Think about the elderly lady in the television commercial. She did not only need someone to help her up,..she needed someone or something to make her stronger.
God will not only raise you up, He will give you enough power to pull yourself up if you stumble again.
He won’t help you up so you can be handicapped the rest of your life.
No He gives power to the faint, and to those who are weak, He gives strength.
Are you weak and have….no will power…. no strength…. no ability within yourself to resist the enemy?
When your body gets tired…. remember God and His strength.
When Satan begin to attack you… remember the power of God residing within your innermost being.
Remember that God does not faint or grow weary. In fact, the Lord does not even sleep.
When you remember these things about God, your strength will suddenly be renewed.
Your joy will be restored, and your power will return and you will experience a life of victory.
3. WE MUST LEARN TO WAITING ON THE LORD.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that we need to wait on the Lord?
The Lord says,… If you wait on Me,….. I’ll renew your strength.
The Lord says…. If you wait on Me,…. everything will be all right.
The Lord says….You may be hurting right now,… but be patient and wait on me your help is on the way.
If you cry out help me Lord! …. I’ve fallen,…. and I can’t get up.
The Holy Spirit is saying “Wait your help is on the way.”
Just hold on a little while longer, God is coming to your aid.
He’s coming to deliver you and to set you free.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that God is going to bring you out and deliver you from your captivity.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. He’s going to renew your strength. If you hold on a little while longer, your change is going to come.
Remember Samson how he lost every thing….
He lost his hair…. his strength…. and his eyes
He lost his position…, his family,… his wife,… and his reputation.
He was reduced from a great warrior… to a lowly servant grinding at the mill.
But without a shadow of a doubt…., at the appointed time, Samson’s strength was renewed.
Samson’s attitude was, “Lord, I’ve fallen and I cannot get up, but I’m waiting on you to deliver me.”
If you don’t deliver and help me…., I will die without ever being redeemed from the error of my ways.
Lord, If you don’t help me…., I’ll never get my honor back.
God, If you don’t help me…. I will never get up from where I have fallen.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that while Samson was patiently waiting on the Lord…. his strength began to return.
The secret to renewing your strength is waiting on the Lord.
God’s Word says, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31a)
Sometimes you may not be able to explain or prove it…, but you know that you’re waiting on the Lord for something to happen in your life.
The Devil may be telling you to give up and die, but something on the inside of you, …. “Like a fire shut up in your bones says, Hold on just a little while longer.”
When the Devil says, you’re not going to be blessed…. “Wait on the Lord”.
When you’re hurting inside, “Wait on the Lord”.
When your eyes are filled with tears, “Wait on the Lord and everything will be all right.”
4. WHEN YOU WAIT ON THE LORD…. HE WILL LET YOU FLY… ON EAGLES’ WINGS.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that they that wait upon the Lord… “They shall mount up on wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31b)
The Lord said, If you wait on Him….
He would cause your wings to stretch out. And You will mount up on wings like eagles.
If you wait on the Lord…. He will take you above the top of the storm clouds.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that the eagle does not fly in the middle of the storm; it flies above the storm, Spreading its wings wide, the eagle uses the wind blowing against it wings to take it higher instead of lower.
You don’t have to let the wind blow and bring you down…..
If you just stretch out on God’s Word…. the same wind that is trying to take you down under…. will hold you up …. and take you over into the glory of God.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. that if you want to walk and not faint, you must first come to the Lord wholeheartedly.
Humble yourself and tell the Lord that you’re unable to do it alone.
Tell the Lord that you have tried, but you can’t seem to get the victory.
Tell him that you have fallen and just can’t get up.
When you fall on the ground of adversity and defeat and you can’t get up.
When the Desires is there in your mind and your will, but when you try to get back on you feet, you can’t, because your flesh want cooperate with what the Word of the Lord says you can do.
When you saying the right thing but you still can’t get up.
It is at this point that you must cry out….; “Lord, save me,
You must cry out…. Lord help me,
You must cry…. I’ve fallen and can’t get up!
You must cry out Lord… I pretended to be strong, but I was weak and I need you to renew my strength.
CONCLUSION
We must ask the Lord to give us…. back the will to fight.
We must tell the Lord that we know that we have allowed things in your life that should not be there.
We must tell the Lord that we have repented of our sins.
We must tell the Lord that we want to be delivered and that we don’t have the strength to deliver yourself.
We must tell the Lord that we need the Holy Ghost to work in our life again.
My Brothers and Sisters… when your situation gets so desperate and grave, you need to run to God like you have never run before and cry out,…. “Lord I’m on the verge of destruction.
If you don’t help me, the enemy is going to defeat me. Help me Lord Jesus!
If you have fallen… don’t you know that the Holy Spirit is calling you.
Put away all of your excuses and the complaining.
God is calling you. Give Him all of your troubles and allow Him to renew your strength.
Don’t you know that the areas in your life that you haven’t given up to Him,… you need to release them right now.
Don’t let Satan bound you any longer. The Lord will not renew your strength until you are willing to throw everything on the altar, without restrictions or reservations.
When you give Him all of you, He will give you all of Him.
When you make this decision, God will enable you to mount up on eagle’s wings and soar with the mighty wind of the Spirit and He will pick you up and make you strong. Amen.
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. How the Roman soldiers Lead Jesus to Golthaga Hill to a place called Calvary….
Don’t You Know…. Haven’t You Heard….. How They…
Mocked Him….. Spitted in His face… Pulled His Beard.
Placed a Crown of Thorns on His Head.
Gave Him gall mixed with vinegar when he was athirst.
Nailed spikes in His hands and feet to the Cross.
Pierced Him in the Side.
Laid Him down in Joseph’s borrowed Tomb.
But early Sunday morning before the break of day…..
He rose up with all Power in His hands…..
He had Redeeming Power
He had Saving Power
He had Holy Ghost Power
Amen…. Amen….. Amen….
