THEY WILL SOAR, THEY WILL RUN, THEY WILL WALK

TEXT: ISAIAH 40:28-31.

PREACHER: REV. DR. WILLY MUTISO.

Isaiah 40:31 tells us the source of our strength and the three stages christians can be travelling in and yet be revived in. In this verse we note how to renew our strength. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint”- Isa. 40:31. Let us learn:-

HUMAN STRENGTH vs. DIVINE STRENGTH

1. Human strength has many forms; physical, mental, spiritual and emotional.

• No matter which form it is, one day human strength will fail. Why?

2. Because human strength is;-

• Derived, gained from another.
• A limited resource.
• Constantly drawn on.

3. All nature needs renewing because we are human and imperfect.

• We cannot always be at our best.

4. The sky is not always clear, the sea is not always calm, the year is not always summer.

• The sun is not always at its zenith.
• The moon is not always ‘full-moon’.
• The tree is not always in fruit.
• The vineyard does not always flow with wine.
• Roses do not always blush nor do lilies always bloom.

5. Creatures have their rises and their falls.

• To us, there must be times when we need to renew our strength and we shall renew it.

6. Contrast human strength with divine strength.

• God is not limited by years of time.
• Millions of years mean nothing to Him.
• NO exertion taxes in His power.
• His power would have no problem in creating hundred more universes!

7. God does not change.

• The fountain of His Almightiness still overflows- Isa. 40:26-28.

8. We see two different things.
9. Man’s faintness, weakness, emptiness and…
10. God’s inexhaustible omnipotence.

• The two need to come together for us to be aided.
• If by the act of faith, the poor human can be linked with the divine- a miracle would happen.

We need renovation, refreshment, to be filled up, increase established, made strong.

In modern human history there has been three dispensations;-

• Pre-modern age which ended in 1500’s.
• This was the age of enlightenment.
• People believed that God was the center of the universe.
• They believed in absolute truth- Bible.
• They believed that every area of a person’s life must be influenced by their faith in God. That all problems could be solved if humans could get saved.
• The modern age.
• It began in the 1500’s and lasted until 1960/70.
• People became self-confident and the center of the universe shifted from God to man.
• This shift is called humanism.
• Absolute truth still existed but was no longer found in God.
• Instead, absolute truth would be discovered through human reasoning and the scientific method.
• There were now categories of philosophies like reason only, faith only, faith above reason and faith and reason.
• They believed that mankind was evolving and increasing in knowledge, that the world was becoming a better place- African Humanism.
• This belief was challenged by;-
• The great depression of 1930’s.
• World War 1 and World War 2. World war 3?
• Post- modern age.
• Post modernism began in 1960 and it is in full-swing today.
• Post modernism is characterized by PESSIMISM, the future is not going to be better at all.
• Feeling of despair especially in youth.
• Relativism- uncertainty, confusion, no universal absolutes, nothing is binding.
• Subjectivism- truth is subjective, depend on personal experience.
• Interfaith, ‘worship experience’, personal belief.
• LGBTQ plus 50 genders.
• If you are absolutist, you are branded extremist or fundamentalist, individualism, privatization, compartmentalization- split life and double life.
• Post-modernism is killing the church through pluralism.

WHAT WE NEED- STRENGTH

1. We need to renew our strength in spiritual things. It does not matter who you know.

• We have a promise that God will renew our strength.
• Have you become weak? Go to God for reward.

2. It brings glory to God when we are strong.

• Weak people cannot help others, they require others to help them.
• Weakness breeds colonialism, slavery, world-coin!! Neo-colonialism, human trafficking, child prostitution and bad governance.

3. It is not safe to be weak, you can fall, you can be attacked.

• It is our duty to be strong. So we can sustain ourselves, help others and build the kingdom.

HOW ARE WE TO GET STRENGTH?

1. Nourishment

• A man who has not eaten in days needs nourishment.
• Seven days without prayer makes one weak.
• Wait upon Him, feed on Him.

2. Take a little rest.

“In quietness and confidence shall be your strength”- Isa. 30:15, Rest.

3. Get into cool water- baptism in the Holy Spirit. We need to be fully immersed in God’s spirit.
4. Inhale and exhale- confess your sins, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

THREE STAGES OF RENEWED STRENGTH

They will ‘soar’.

• I like to fly- in a few hours you are far.
• Birds have three ways of flying;-
• Flapping- to counteract gravity and produce a lift- a lot of work.
• Gliding- build enough speed to last for a while.
• Soaring- you utilize the thermal currents, rising air, you stay aloft, the bird can soar to great heights.
• Sometimes you soar- we are carried on the currents of God’s power. We move with the Holy Spirit- Isa. 40:31.

“They will run”.

• Some days you can’t soar but you can run without growing weary. Running warms you up.
• Run in a winning pace- 1^st Corinthians 9:24- “Run that you may obtain the prize.”
• Run the race for a ‘Believer’- Heb. 12:1.
• The promise to the runners- YOU SHALL NOT GROW WEARY!

“They will walk”.

• Some days we cannot fly or run because of weakness and fatigue- so we walk without fainting- walking in the spirit, be sure you are saved, confess sin, be filled, walk by faith and know your rights as a child of God.
• But to soar is the best.
• To soar you need the wind- Gen. 1:2, 2:7; Exo. 14:21; Num. 11:31; Job. 38:1; 1^st Kings 19:11.
• It is God’s plan for you to be filled- Acts 1:4-5. Without the Holy Spirit we cannot soar.

CONCLUSION

• Do you need the liberty of soaring? Receive the Holy Spirit (you are saved, you have confessed, receive).
• Open your mouth and speak the words God gives you by faith- John 7:37-49.
• If you want to be filled, raise your hands to God in surrender, receive by faith the power for living.