Civic service NR 05-06-05
Soar with the eagle or scratch with the chickens
Story: When I was living in Switzerland about 15 years ago there was a wonderful bumper sticker (I don’t know if you had it over here) – usually on the back of a Porsche - which said;
“Do you want to soar with the eagles – or scratch with the chickens?”
As I had a mini at the time - I usually scratched with the chickens!
I would like to focus this morning on one verse from our Old Testament lesson:
Isaiah 40:31 which says
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings of eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Our OT reading this morning doesn’t tell us that God will take all our problems away – but it does tell us that he will give us the strength to come through the other side
One book I have been reading recently is John Ortberg’s “If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat”.
What a fascinating title for a book.
Ortberg quotes Scott Peck as saying this:
"It is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning....
It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually...
It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread but actually welcome the pain of problems”
Do we see our problems as problems or opportunities to grow?
Do we want to soar like the eagle or scratch with the chickens?
If we want to soar like the eagle, we will need to train. There are no shortcuts
Story: The eagle is an interesting bird.
It makes its nest from briars and thorns and then inlays the nest with animal skin, to stop the thorns and briars hurting the newly hatched eaglets.
For the eaglets, this is the life. Mum brings the food and the eaglets hangs around the nest getting fat. UNTIL one day, when Mum decides it is time to fly.
Naturally the eaglets are not keen to leave the
nest and so the mother eagle pulls away the animal skins. The prickles encourage the eaglet to leave
the nest.
So he clambers on his mother’s back and the mother flies high,
1000 ft,
2000 ft
till she reaches about 5000 ft over the ground.
If the little eaglet suffered from vertigo, he is in for a shock, because suddenly, the mother tips the eaglet off and it goes hurtling down.
The little eaglet flaps it wings but nothing seems to happen. And the earth looms up closer and closer.
Just as the eaglet is about to be splattered all over the ground, the mother eagle swoops down and catches the eaglet and the process is repeated
- until the eaglet can fly.
And so it is with us in the Christian life.
When we first become Christians we feel protected in God’s nest, but God soon takes us out of it, so that he can teach us to "soar on wings like eagles"
How can we fly like the eagle?. I can think of three areas
1. Firstly – if we want to soar like an eagle, then we need to learn to pray (Mark 1:29-39)
If we wish to follow the Master, we would do well to follow his example. We read in Mark 1: 35:
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
Jesus prayed – because he believed it was important to spend time with his heavenly Father – and to hear what God was saying to him.
He recharged his batteries in prayer.
I came across this poem - given to me by a Roman Catholic friend of mine:
Time to pray
I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn’t have time to pray
Problems just tumbled about me
And heavier came each task
“Why doesn’t God help me” I wondered
He answered “You just didn’t ask”
I wanted to see joy and beauty
But the day toiled on, grey and bleak
I wondered why God didn’t show me
He said “You just didn’t seek”
I tried to come into God’s presence
I used all my keys at the lock
God gently and lovingly chided
“My child why didn’t you knock?”
I woke up early this morning
And paused before entering the day
I had much to accomplish
That I had to take time to pray
2. Secondly if we want to soar like an eagle, we need to learn to trust in God (Ps. 147)
Psalm 147 encourages us to learn to trust God:
Ps.147:11: The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
God doesn’t want us to believe in God – he wants us to trust him.
Trust is more than simply believing in God.
Let me explain the difference
Story: In 1859, Charles Blondin suspended a tightrope across the Niagara Falls in the USA.
He then proceeded to walk across it with a wheelbarrow in front of him.
Having reached the other side, he stepped down to the applause of the crowd.
He went up to members of the crowd and asked:
"Do you believe that I can walk back on that rope without falling off?"
"Yes" they each replied.
"Do you really believe I can make" he asked.
"Yes" they replied. "We’ve just seen you do it"
"Then" said Blondin "Will you please step inside my wheelbarrow and come with me".
"Oh no" they replied "It is far too dangerous".
God doesn’t want us to believe in him – he wants us to get into the wheelbarrow.
3. Thirdly, if we want to soar like an eagle, we need to be obedient to what God calls us to do
Many of you may recall the story of Eric Liddell whose story was told in the film “Chariots of Fire”
Liddell was one of the favourites to win the gold medal for the 100 m in the Paris Olympics in 1924.
However the heats for the 100 m were scheduled to be run on a Sunday and Liddell made it a principle never to run on a Sunday. So he pulled out.
But God gave him his gold medal in a totally unexpected way .
One of the British runners in the 400 metres gave Liddell his place in the Final.
Liddell was not the favourite – indeed he had never run the 400 m before.
But he won the final against the odds with a world record and that day transformed the way the 400 m was run.
The commentators said he ran like a man inspired. Indeed one of them said that: Liddell seemed to gather strength from somewhere to keep going.
His sister Florence commented:
"Eric always said that the great thing for him was when he stood by his principles and refused to run in the 100 m, he found that the 400 m was really his race. He would never have dreamt of trying the 400 m at the Olympics."
Conventional wisdom would have said that Liddell was ridiculous not to race on a Sunday – but God had other ideas.
God has given the Church one task and that is to share the Gospel with others (I Cor. 9: 16-23)
In our Gospel reading Jesus told his disciples
“to preach the Gospel to all nations” (Mt 28:19).
The preaching of the Gospel was also central in the Great Apostle Paul’s thinking. We read Paul writing:
"Yet when I preach the Gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel". (I Cor. 9: 16)
4. Conclusion:
Let us be resolved to allow God to train us, like the mother eagle trains her little eaglet.
If we want to soar like an eagle - and not scratch with the chickens, we need to see problems as opportunities for God to teach us how to fly.
If we are going to soar in the heavenly realms, we need
1. listen to God in prayer,
2. to trust God and
3. to obey him in all that he tells us to do. Amen
