NOTE: I did research from different sights and sermons, yet the SOARing points are original.
Title: Learning to SOAR
Theme: Understanding that we must SOAR to be real men.
Text: Isaiah 40:26-31
Isa 40:26-31 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. (27) Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: "My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God"? (28) Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. (29) He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. (30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, (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.
Introduction
Isaiah is a prophet of the Old Testament to the nation of Judah. He covered four kings who reigned in Judah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah. His most famous prophecy came in the time of Hezekiah as he prophesied the captivity of Judah the last remaining nation of God. This came on the heels of Hezekiah’s pleading for to live longer, given 15 more years, and exposing the land to the foreign kings. Hezekiah was judged for his lack of judgment.
So Isaiah is about the destruction of Judah. It must have been very discouraging. The good news comes in chapters 40 & 41 when Isaiah discusses the restoration and protection of God.
Men need to learn to rest and trust the Lord so they can SOAR.
Did you know the eagle can see a rabbit two miles away? It can soar up to two miles above the ground and can fly at speeds up to 100 miles an hour, yet can land in a 20 feet area. They have a separate eyelid which slides across the eye sideways in order to keep the eye clean and free from dust as they fly.
Wing span is up to 7 feet wide,
S.O.A.R.
S-seek God will your whole heart
“Draw nigh
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (MSG “yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper”) 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
O-Offer yourself (body) as a living sacrifice - Surrender
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
A-Accept the will and plan of God for your life
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Psalms 25:1 To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. 3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. 4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. 5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.
R-Rest in his presence
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.
“wait on the Lord”
Example of Mary and Martha in
Luke 10:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
Conclusion
The Full Life Study Bible has this note concerning the passage: “To hope in the Lord is to trust Him fully with our lives; it involves looking to Him as our source of help and grace in time of need. Those who hope in the Lord are promised:
1) God’s strength to revive them in the midst of exhaustion and weakness, of suffering and trial;
2) The ability to rise above their difficulties like an eagle that soars in the sky; and
3) The ability to run spiritually without tiring and to walk steadily forward without fainting at God’s delays. God promises that if His people will patiently trust Him, He will provide whatever is needed to sustain them constantly.”
When eagles are about 30 years old, they go through a renewal process. They find a secret place high in the mountains and begin to claw at their face and tear out the feathers that have been damaged over the years. As a result, it bleeds badly. But this is necessary for the eagle in order to renew its strength. If it did not do this, it would not be able to live to its normal 60 years of age.
Psalms 103:5 says, "who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles." A time of renewal is necessary for every child of God. A time when we get rid of what is weighing us down, holding us back, aging us spiritually. A time to give up the sinful habits, to give in to the Holy Spirit in whichever way He is convicting us.
We need to do this, even to the point of renewal with pain. Some things we hold on to so tightly, that to let go actually causes us pain. But in order to have the long, powerful, useful, spiritual life that God plans for us, we need to do that. It will renew our spiritual youthfulness.
