2 Sam. 17
16 "Now therefore, send quickly and tell David, saying, ’Do not spend this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily cross over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’"
22 So David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed over the Jordan. By morning light not one of them was left who had not gone over the Jordan.
Is. 40
31 But those 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.
Some of us here this morning need to mount up with wings as eagles and get out of the wilderness we are in.
When Jesus spoke to the children of Israel He said He brought them out of Egypt on eagle’s wings.
Eagles are mentioned in the bible 32 times.
All through the scripture you will see God was partial to the eagle.
He made the eagle like no other bird.
No other bird on the face of the earth has the strength or power of the eagle.
Scientist say that of flesh, bone and blood, there is nothing on the face of this earth as strong as an eagle.
A 22-pound eagle has been known to carry a 100-pound kangaroo over 1 mile.
They come from a family called falcons, which consist of condors, hawks, and eagles.
Even in his own family, the eagle distinguishes himself from all the others because he has a different kind of heart.
He has a different honor, a different heritage, and a different habitat than any other bird.
Today I would like to talk to you about the middle years of an eagle.
An eagle lives from 60 - 100 years. The oldest in captivity was 128.
The eagle is strong, powerful, feared, his momma taught him to fly, he’s mounted up wings, he learned about the things around him and the power God put in him.
The first thing I want you to know about an eagle is that he always has a rock.
Every eagle will claim a rock. No matter where he was born or where you might move him he always has a rock.
Some year’s back there was a program started called the hatching process, in order to save the eagle.
They let 4 golden eagles loose in Lafayette, Georgia.
I told you that an eagle is either born on or near a rock.
But here were four eagles that were born and raised in a building; they had never seen a tree.
The first time they put them on the ground, all four eagles ran straight to a big old rock and began to huddle up to it and hold on to that rock, claiming that rock.
If you ever want to find that eagle, all you need to do is hang around his rock.
Before to long he will come around because he goes to his rock every day.
When he needs comfort, he goes to the rock.
When he needs rest, he goes to the rock.
When he’s troubled, he goes to his rock.
When he needs cleansing, he goes to the rock.
He will never change rocks.
I’m glad we have the Rock of Ages, the Lord Jesus Christ and he is everything we need.
If we find ourselves in need all we have to do is go to the Rock.
There are a lot of fascinating things we can talk about today about the eagle, but I want to take a look at the middle years of an eagle.
The name of the message today is “The Dangers of Lodging in the Wilderness”.
During the middle years the eagle quits depending on his power and his ability to fly.
He comes down to earth and he stays to long, he lodges in the wilderness and the first thing he notices is his power is gone.
That happen to some church people.
•They had power with God,
•They had mounted up with wings,
•They had learned to soar above their problems,
•But they came back down to this world and got entangled in the affairs of this life and lost their power with God.
In the middle years of an eagle he goes through a stage in his life called the moping period.
This is a time of great depression in his life. It’s up to him whether he lives or dies.
He can stay in the valley or he can eat the meat from heaven, climb up the mountain and get back on his rock and start living.
Over in Cherokee NC there was an Indian by the name of Tacoma.
Bobby Thompson told of a trip that he and Tacoma took to a place called “Eagle’s Bluff”.
Tacoma picked Bobby up one day and wanted to show him something.
So they got in a jeep and headed up the mountain.
When he got out of the Jeep on top of a mountain over in Smoke Monte, there was a great bowl right on top of the mountain.
When they looked around they saw 33 different eagles fling around that day.
Eagles nest all in the sides of the cliffs. But down in the bottom was nothing but a vast wilderness.
Tacoma told Bobby that down there was what he brought him to see.
So down into the valley they went in the jeep.
When they got to the bottom of the valley, they had to walk about 2 miles.
When they got there they saw 5 eagles sitting on the ground.
And as soon as they saw them they could tell that those eagles were in the moping period.
An eagle is always beautiful until he gets in the moping period.
During this time calcium builds up on his beak and covers the 2 holes on either side and he can’t breathe properly.
Those talons on his feet were made to catch meat ---
•Eagles are meat eaters from the day they’re born till the day they die.
•He doesn’t want anything else but fresh meat,
•He will not eat rotten, polluted meat
What’s wrong with some church folks today is they’re feeding on the filth and pollution of this world instead of the food from heaven, the Word of God.
Eagle’s feet are strong and sharp for hunting and killing.
These 5 eagles feet were swollen, busted and bleeding.
You see an eagle is not made to walk around like a chicken or a turkey.
He’s not made for this world,
He’s made for the stars and to soar in the heavens.
He’s not made to live here on this world and I’ve got news for you honey.
This world is not our home, we’re pilgrims and strangers here because one day we’re going to mount up with wings and take off to our true home and leave this old world.
These eagles were in bad shape, their feet all busted and bleeding, beaks clogged up, and their feathers all ruffled.
Tacoma looked over at Bobby and told him to pick one of them up, Bobby looked at him and said” I didn’t come in on a load of pumpkins”.
When you handle an eagle you must wear steel mesh gloves or his talons will rip into your flesh.
Tacoma said these eagles aren’t going to hurt you, they’re too far-gone, and they’re nearly dead.
He reached down and picked up one of those eagles and he could see that it hurt the eagle’s foot just to have the pressure of his hand against it.
Tacoma said while you’ve got him in your arms look into his eyes,
His eyes were dry and scaly around them.
My friend strong eagles eyes are always wet and damp, you see a strong eagle will weep before his maker, he’ll get up on his rock and squall and commune with God.
His heart is soft towards the things of God.
He looks to the heavens and to hills where his strength is and there he communes with God.
But these eagles were in such dark depression.
They couldn’t even cry for themselves.
Tacoma looked at Bobby and said “Bobby lets go over and hide in these bushes”.
They sat in the bushes for a while talking and Tacoma said, shh.
And then they heard the sound of wings,
Bobby looked up and there were 8 eagles flying in a straight line above them.
They came in right above the tree line, right over top them, and turned and went back.
Then they came around again and Bobby could see something was different about them, he noticed that the eagles flying up there were old eagles.
Tacoma said that every one of those eagles had been down here in this wilderness before, they know how to get out and they had come back to encourage these eagles to get out of this wilderness.
Bobby looked and noticed that eagle’s talons were closed and they had something in them.
And as the eagles flew over again they started dropping something.
Bobby ran over to see what it was, and picked it up and saw that it was big chunks of rabbit and squirrel.
They were dropping fresh meat to strengthen them and to help them get out of that wilderness and not die there in discouragement and depression.
I thank God that here at Lighthouse Assembly you have some experienced eagles, who will fly over and drop handfuls of purpose.
You can sit there, dry up, not eat it and die if you want to, criticize everything, pick on all the problems you see in folks.
But if you will eat the meat, the word of God that God’s men and women bring you every week, you will mount up with wings and be what God called you to be.
Something else he noticed was that not one of those eagles landed in that wilderness.
But later on he found out why.
Once that eagle pulls himself up out of that wilderness and he realizes that is what like to have killed him, he will fly back and drop meat to those who are in there, but he will never go back down.
Wouldn’t it be great if church folks would learn that?
Things that hurt them and hurt their testimony they seem to keep going right back for more.
They keep going back to that same old wilderness and it keeps dragging them right back down.
2 of those eagles started eating that meat the other three just sat there.
As those 2 eagles started eating that meat,
Tacoma started to have a spell, he said, yes little eagles eat that meat, you’ve made your mind up, your not going to die in this wilderness.
You’re eating that meat and it’s going to make you strong, it will get your heart to pumping, your blood to moving, you’ll feel the power God has put in you once again.”
Just like the Word of God will do in our lives.
Once Tacoma and Bobby got over the fit they were having watching those 2 eagles eat, Bobby looked back at those other 3 eagles and asked, what’s going to happen to these 3.
Tacoma said, “They’ll die right here in this wilderness, the meats being given to them week after week and they won’t do a thing to help themselves.
And then Tacoma took Bobby over and showed him 27 little eagle graves where they sat right down and died in the wilderness.
I want to say today that there are some church folk whose life is just like a wilderness.
If you could measure the Holy Spirit in some peoples life and turne it into gasoline it wouldn’t run an ant’s go-cart half way around a BB
They just sit there and die spiritually, cold, refusing to listen to any truth you try to tell them, proud of doing it their own way.
They don’t want any fresh meat.
You know what the difference in an eagle dying in this wilderness and one dying up yonder.
Those that die down here die looking at their rock, with dreams and goals unattained of what they could have been.
You know those that get out of here and die of old age, they fly in and sit down on their rock, cross their wings, lean their head back looking up, and go out in victory knowing they have accomplished what God created them for.
•The wilderness of unconfessed sin will kill you,
•The wilderness of unforgiveness will kill you,
•The wilderness of un-weeping eyes will kill you,
The bible says “if we sow in tears we will reap in joy”.
It’s time to be broken over the state of our wilderness.
