Isaiah 40:31
Good Morning
Stand with me and lift up your bible and repeat after me.
This is my Bible.
I am what it says I am.
I can do what it says I can do.
I am going to learn how to be what it says I can be.
Today I will learn more of the word of God.
The indestructible, never ending, living word Of God.
I will never be the same.
I will never be the same.
In Jesus Name
Open your bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 40 and say, “Amen” when you are there.
Isaiah 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.
As we go through the times that are occurring here on earth, maybe in our busy lives we should spend real time with the One who is and was and is to come?
We are busy people.
But we need to remember and be reminded who is with us at all times and our choices in life are to include spending more time with Him.
Our priorities have changed over the years. Let me read this to you. It is called, “Funny Things.”
Funny how a $10.00 bill looks so big when you take it to church, but so
small when you take it to the mall.
Funny how big an hour serving God looks and how small 60 minutes are when spent playing golf, fishing or shopping.
Funny how we get thrilled when a football game goes into overtime, but we
complain when a sermon is longer than the regular time.
Funny how laborious it is to read a chapter in the Bible and how easy it is
to read 200-300 pages of a best-selling novel.
Funny how we believe what newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.
Funny how people scramble to get a front seat at any game, but scramble to get a back seat at a church service.
Funny how we cannot fit a gospel meeting into our schedule with our yearly
planner but we can schedule for other events at a moment's notice.
Funny how we need 2 or 3 weeks to fit a church event into our schedule, but can adjust it for a social event at the last minute.
Funny how much difficulty some have learning a simple bit of the gospel well enough to tell others, but how simple it is for the same people to understand and explain gossip about someone else.
Funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, and don't have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
Funny how we are so quick to take direction from a total stranger when we
are lost, but are hesitant to take God's direction to be found.
Funny how people are so consumed with what others think about them rather than what God thinks about them.
Funny how so many churchgoers sing "Standing on the Promises" but all they do is sit on the premises.
Funny how people think that they can get more accomplished in a lifetime
without God than in an hour with Him.
Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven, provided they don't have to
believe, or to think, or to say, or to do anything.
Funny how we all need to read this.
Isaiah 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.
When I started going to church, I went for the wrong reasons. I went to be with a woman that I wanted to be with. Not to hear the word.
All of the funny things we just read were true.
My priorities were right along those lines.
Then I made a commitment and asked Jesus into my heart and I started to realize what a relationship with God through Jesus Christ was all about. That was almost 40 years ago and I am still learning. How about you?
Are you learning to have a better relationship with God?
Or are you to overwhelmed by life?
It is not hard.
As I share this message today the following things are happening in the world;
A dust storm that has traveled over half of the planet earth hurting many in its path.
Locusts are destroying plant life in different parts of Africa and the Middle East.
The corona virus is devastating many, many lives all around the world with thousands of people dying.
Earthquakes.
Tsunamis.
Wars and threats of war.
Political unrest.
Protests of how people of color have been treated over the years.
Money and the image of how we look are becoming what is most important than other things in life.
Interesting because we all came off the same boat that Noah and his family were on as chosen people when God flooded the earth to change things for the better. The other interesting part is we all have the same color blood. Red. The same as what Jesus had pour out of His body when he died on the cross for us.
Maybe this is all happening on our earth because of how we are living.
It is very disheartening.
Isa 40:1 says, “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God”.
Do we need a comfort right now?
Amen?
I wonder if the time that we have all had to spend where we live and are being told not to go outside and to stay in our homes was part of what He wants?
I don’t just think that, I believe that.
We have had time to spend with our loved ones but also, we have had time to spend with Him. And wait.
What are we waiting for?
Maybe a renewal?
Isaiah 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.
The Lord allows things to happen here on earth as part of His great plan but also for us to get closer to Him.
As believers, we have the opportunity to have something so priceless that it cannot be attained by wealth. It can just be something we receive by our faith.
Isaiah 40:31.
“But those who wait on the Lord”
We all need patience and we can get that with our relationship with Him. Putting Him first in all things and waiting for Him to decide what and when it happens in our lives.
Not planning out to make it happen when we want it to.
“Shall renew their strength.”
We are so caught up in our day to day lives that we forget who our strength comes from. Sometimes we have to rest to renew. Taking time to rest, eat properly, and spending time with our loved ones and our God.
“They shall mount up with wings like eagles”
Life as we know it changes with our relationships and when our relationship with God grows, we become stronger.
We start seeing things that are accomplished in our lives that we know we did not do on our own. Think about it. You and I have had things happen in our lives that we know we did not plan to happen. We were strong enough to handle it but, we know it was not just us.
You and I could share some things that have a happened in our lives that we know came from God and was not what we put together.
“They shall run and not be weary”
Here is the hard part.
A four-letter word that some of us cannot handle, rest. Today's life style is, do as much as you can all the time, period. That is why people become dependent of drugs and alcohol to maintain the lifestyle they think they need. It is simple.
Ask God for rest.
“They shall walk and not faint”
In our world today we have many people having heart attacks at an early age. We have over 30 percent of those who are alive today addicted to something that controls their lives, alcohol or drugs. Instead of trying to maintain on their own, maybe they should just grow stronger by putting Him, “First” in all things.
He will make sure they will not, “Faint”.
I have seen in my travels, people driving fast in their cars to get around me and then I end up pulling up to next to them at the traffic light which has turned red forcing us both to stop.. I feel like getting out of my car and saying, “Slow down” but they would think I am an older crazy person and should mind my own business.
Isaiah 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.
Have you ever heard this which is a good add on to those verses;
“Teach me Lord to wait.”
Maybe we should not be so funny in what we do and become more serious in our relationship with the Lord. Amen?
Let us pray......
