Soaring like an eagle
Isaiah 40:21-31
Good morning/ turn to Isaiah 40:21-31
Did you know that your attitude plays a factor on how much you will gain out of the service? Stinking thinking can destroy you and will distract you from God.
If you came in church overwhelmed by what all you have to do this week, you’ll probably not hear the good news that comes from God’s word. Why? Because you have put your mind in the negative mode and not expecting anything to happening. Your mind is elsewhere.
But if you came in here with a heart of expectation and readiness to receive all that God has for you, you will go out of here filled with His goodness and His grace. Why? Because you came expecting- and you will not be denied what the Lord has for you.
So what kind of mood did you come with? Overwhelmed and elsewhere or expectant and ready to receive?
Prayer- Father, this morning I ask you to go beyond what we can do ourselves to the extra-ordinary. We know the extra-ordinary happens when we come expecting you to do something. May you this morning put us in the right frame of mind and the right relationship so that we can receive what you have for us. We are hungry and dry and need you to speak to us and lead us and guide us to your glorious riches and your marvelous truths. In Jesus Name Amen!
Let me set this up.
It seems the Lord has impressed me lately to look at passages that cause us to respond.
He speaks and we must do something with it.
Last week, Daniel Chapter 3, the three Hebrews Shadrach. Mechach, and Abedinego holding to their faith and their beliefs in a world that was ready to abandon them and settle for less.
Someone has to stand up and make a difference.
Someone has to be the first so that he/she can lead others to stand up.
Having a faith that no matter what the world would do, you will not compromise.
Having a faith that is more than a roll of the dice, it is a decision and a determined plan to follow God.
The text this morning plops us right down in the middle of conflict.
The first 35 chapters of Isaiah deal with the Assyrians captivity and their takeover of Israel and then the last chapters of Isaiah are dealing with the Babylonian takeover.
Israel is tired and worn out and beaten up and discouraged.
Anyone know what that is all about!
You would think that the Nation of Israel would realize that they must stop rejecting God and return to God to see the benefits and promises of God.
The Nation of Israel has seen the anointing and blessing of God on them and has also been on the receiving end of punishment for disobedience.
Babylonian, Assyrians, Greeks, Medes, and Romans. All have/ will have control over them because they would not return onto the Lord like they were commanded.
This is a well know text in the book of Isaiah.
It is loved because it strikes a familiar chord with so many weary people who at times need encouragement.
Each of us has been weary.
Each one of us experiences exhaustion.
Each one of us has at times been under fire so long that we have been discouraged instead of encouraged.
The Lord has a word for us today to encourage you and me so that we would keep our focus and attention where it belongs and that is on the Lord and not our situations or circumstances.
So what can we learn from these scriptures that would help us with our walk with the Lord?
What can we learn that we would see the Lord for who He is and not allow our circumstances to cloud our vision of Him?
What can we learn about doing “life”?
How can we soar like Eagles? I want that don’t you?
Here we go!
We see the first lesson in verse 25- 26 Read from the Bible
Don’t look down in discouragement look up with praise! That will preach!
The Israelite doubters were comparing their God with the god of their captors. They believed God was failing the test.
You cannot compare Jehovah-Jireh my provider with the god of the Babylonians. A manmade god of wood and gold up against the creator of the universe.
They worshipped creations instead of the creator.
The stars which are hang in the sky which they worshipped instead of the god that created each star and gave each and every one of them a name.
You will never soar like an eagle until you realize the God that you serve is not manmade and is from everlasting to everlasting!
He created you not the other way around. (Repeat)
LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8:9
Hebrews 1:3-
“The Son (Jesus Christ) is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
God’s work as creator is emphatic- He alone sits upon the throne and he is not giving it up anytime soon.
Once we have an understanding of who God is, we can know who He created us to be.
Isaiah 26:3- “You will keep in perfect peace those whose mind are steadfast, because they trust you.”
Resting in God and the peace that comes from God is found in steadfastness, and putting your trust in him.
It is like the game you use to play as a kid and you fallback and trust that your friend will catch you.
- It is everyday, everytime, putting your trust in Jesus that He will catch you.
Charles Spurgeon-
“Rest time is not a waste of time. It is economy to gather fresh strength… it is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.”
Soaring Eagles don’t scratch on the ground, peeking and searching for their food, an eagle soars above the ground and gets a wide picture of his food opportunities.
Somebody should be getting their praise on this morning!
Until you realize that there is a holy and powerful god that created you and loves you is desiring a relationship with you, you will never be all that He created you to be because you will be looking down in discouragement instead of looking up with encouragement.
Our strengths and abilities come from the Lord
Verse 29-30- Read from the Bible
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak!
You will never do more than your talents and abilities unless you do them in the strength and power of the Lord-
Then you can do abundantly more than you ever thought imaginable!
We are at a great spot for God to intervene in our lives when we allow him excess to our weaknesses so that he can give us His strength-
How do you find strength in your weakness? By turning your weakness over to the Lord!
Psalm 61:2- “I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I”
You will never soar in your own strength and you will never soar standing on the ground acting like a chicken when you were created to be an eagle (Repeat)
The Psalmist like most of us is on the last nerve and near death and is crying out to God for strength and security in a time of unsureness.
The place of security is beyond his reach but it is not beyond God’s reach.
Jesus is called our rock for a reason- he is the rock of refuge and he is the rock of strength.
He is looking for the dwelling place of God and that is not standing on the ground, it is soaring and being who God intended us to be.
How do you find strength? It is turning our weakness into his strength and his strength made perfect in our lives.
Ephesians 6:10- Finally, be strong in the Lord
Isaiah 41:10- “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
We would all like to think that we are the energizer bunny that we can keep going and going- but we are not!
So how do we soar like eagles?
Don’t look down with discouragement, look up with praise
Realize Our strength comes from the Lord
And the last one- which I believe is the hardest for most people-
Waiting on the Lord
31- “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not faint.”
KJ- “They that wait upon the lord will renew their strength”
First of all, aren’t you glad that the founding Fathers didn’t make the national bird a turkey or a rattlesnake? The eagle was selected second continental congress in 1782- Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams were asked by congress to design the official seal for the new nation.
I want to soar like an eagle not gobble like a turkey. Jefferson thought the turkey had better moral values and Adams thought a rattlesnake better because they are only found in the United States.
Waiting on the Lord is tough because no one wants or like to wait-
Illustration-
Most men do not like shopping. They usually don’t enjoy going with their wives because they have to touch everything, examine everything and they make shopping fun and soak up the whole experience and men just want to get in and get out unless they are in a store with stuff that they like. There is this guy who was with his wife at a local department store, and they had just purchased a piece of luggage and a cooler. As the man was browsing in the shoe department waiting for his wife to finish shopping a clerk asked if he could be of assistance. No, thank you, he replied, I’m just waiting for my wife. At that point a man behind him said, I’m waiting for my wife too, but I never thought to bring a lunch and an overnight bag.”
There has to be patience in waiting!
The King James Version of which I memorized this scripture says that they will mount up with wings as eagles-
NIV says they will soar on wings like eagles because they are trying to paint a picture.
It is designed to inspire us to soar!
If you know anything about eagles they rise and soar effortlessly - with the greatest of ease.
They face high wind currents and rise above storms where most other birds would be hiding in their nests.
Other birds would be flapping till they collapse with no strength and the eagle rises above and then rides the wind.
They like the wind and let the wind do the work.
Can you tell I like Eagles and birds of prey?
While most are fainting and growing weary- God is desiring his people to mount up and soar like an eagle-
Eagles use both monocular and binocular vision, meaning they can use their eyes independently or together depending on what they are looking at.
An eagle can see something the size of a rabbit running at three miles away.
Eagles can achieve 30 mph using powerful wing-beats and even faster when diving after prey (stoop). Bald eagles can dive at up to 100 mph; golden eagles at up to 150 mph.
Eagles monitored with tracking devices have been known to fly 50-125 miles in a day during migration depending on the weather conditions and wind currents.
We see very quickly that an eagle is a powerful bird- one who is at the top of his food chain.
I thought all these years that as I memorized the King James version-
“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.”
That it was what I could do as I mounted up! But I see now that my strength was renewed as I mount up on the wings of the Lord giving me strength. Then I realized that I run and not grow weary and walk and not faint.
Exodus 19:4- “You yourselves have seen what I did in Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles wings and brought you to myself.”
Close-
I am inviting you to soar on Eagles wings- not in your own strength and not walking in your own power but running and not growing weary and walking and not fainting because of the strength of the Lord working through you !
There is no shortage of God’s power and might! He has not forgotten you! He sees what each of us is going through and He desires to help us!
I have learned that mounting up is going beyond ourselves and walking in his strength and that is where we soar like eagles and rise above the storms of life!
You will never soar standing on the ground-
You will never soar when you let the storm ground you from rising above it.
You will never soar in your own power and strength- it is mounting up on the wings of the Lord.
Prayer-
