Title: The fruit of Worship (Part 2)
Text: Isaiah 40:28-31
Introduction
Today we are finishing up our series on worship. And just like last week we are going to look again at the fruit of worship.By the fruit of worship we mean what happens when we worship God?
Last week we saw that one of the fruits of worship is that it gives us the opportunity to show our appreciation to God for his mercy given to us in Christ Jesus.
“Therefore I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God which is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)
•We show our appreciation for God’s mercy thru acts of surrender and acts of sacrifice
So today we want to look at a second fruit of worship; one that can be found in Isaiah 40:28-31.
"He (God) gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord (another translation says “but those who wait on the Lord…) will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Here is our second fruit of worship; Worship allows me to receive supernatural strength from the Lord
"For those that hope/wait on the Lord will renew their strength."
We not only give something to God in worship (our appreciation) We also gain something from God in worship (His strength)
Our passage even tells what God’s supernatural strength does for us when we worship Him.
God might give us supernatural strength to…
•Soar on wings like eagles …
•To run and not grow weary …
•To walk and not be faint…
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Again worship allows me to receive supernatural strength from the Lord.
In order that I might
•Soar on wings like eagles or
•Run and not grow weary or
•Walk and not faint
Does this mean that there are somehow 3 levels to worship?
•That when you worship on level one you receive supernatural strength to walk
•That when you worship on level two you receive supernatural strength to run
•That when you get to worship on level three you receive supernatural strength to soar
I don’t believe our passage is suggesting that there are three levels of Worship
What I do believe our passage is suggesting is this
•When God wants me to soar then God will give me the supernatural ability to soar.
•When God wants me to run then God will give me the supernatural ability to run
•When God wants me to walk then God will give me the supernatural ability to walk.
Now I know what some of you might be thinking. You might be thinking “Doesn’t God want us to soar all the time”? Can’t we just soar on wings like eagles 24-7? Can’t we just skip walking and skip running altogether and go straight to soaring. Isn’t there a lot of preachers on TV who promote soaring. They tell you God wants you to soar in your finances, God wants you to soar in your faith, God wants you to soar in the anointing.
Why walk and run when we can soar?
I don’t think the Bible tells us that we can soar through everything in life
There are some things in life that the Bible says we can only walk in. And there are also some things in life the Bible says we can only run in. And yes there are some things in life the Bible says we should soar in.
I’m going to give you 3 lists.The first list is a list of some of the things in life the Bible says we can only walk in. The second list is a list of some of the things in life the Bible says we can only run in. The third list is a list of things in life the Bible says we should soar in.
Now you would think that the walking list is going to be easy things to do. That the running list is going to be the harder things to do. That the soaring list is going to be the hardest things to do
Well here is a list of some of the things in life the Bible says we are to walk in. Let me know if they are easy things to walk in.
• Walk in the Spirit…
•Walk in love
• Walk in wisdom
• Walk in the light
• Walk in the newness of life
•Walk in Jesus
•Walk through the valley of the shadow of death…
Is it easy to walk in the Spirit? Is it easy to walk in love? Is it easy to walk in wisdom? Is it easy to walk in the light? Is it easy to walk in Jesus? Is it easy to walk through the valley of the shadow of death?
How many of us wish that walking through the valley of the shadow of death was on the running list or better still the soaring list? I’d much rather soar through the valley of the shadow of death than walk through it.
Next there are certain things in life that the Bible says we are to run in. Not to walk in but to run in. The Bible says
•“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)
•Run in such a way as to get the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24)
How do you run with perseverance the race marked out for you? How do you get to run in such a way as to get the prize?
There is only one way. By first mastering in the things we are to walk in! You can’t skip walking and go straight to running.
Then finally there are some things in life God calls us to soar in. Not to walk in. Not to run in but to soar in.Now the word soar can also mean to excel in or to grow in…
So here are a few of the things in life we are to excel and grow in
•Grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3:18)
•Grow up into Christ (Ephesians 4:15)
•“Try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” (1 Corinthians 14:12)
Where do we get the strength to walk, to run and to soar?
"He (God) gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord (another translation says “but those who wait on the Lord…) will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
The strength that we need comes from the Lord. He (God) gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. When does God give us the strength we need?
"Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” We get all the strength we need when we wait upon the Lord.
Another term for waiting upon the Lord is worship. So a major part of our worship needs to be spent waiting on the Lord.
Illustration: Mary and Martha
While Martha ran around doing all the work Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus.
She was waiting on the Lord
Challenge
To wait upon the Lord more in our worship
Yet how many of us know what it means to wait on the Lord when we are worshiping him
How do we wait upon the Lord? By not rushing our time with God. By being still and know that I am God. By spending quality time with God
And if we do all this we will receive the supernatural strength we need from the Lord
Our prayer
Help us to wait upon the Lord in worship. To give more time in our day to waiting on the Lord
That is our problem. We are not giving enough time to waiting on the Lord
