Soaring, Running, Walking

I am going to invite you at this time, if you

could be so kind to join me, I'm going to read

one verse that God has laid upon my heart, found

a very familiar verse in Isaiah chapter 40 and

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

verse 31. Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31. Amen.

Isaiah 40:31

If you don't have it on your Bible or your Bible

app, you can... Read this very familiar passage

with me on the screen. It says this way, 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. Somebody say amen.

I said somebody say amen. Going to speak for

a few moments today on the thought soaring, running,

walking. Soaring, running, walking. We're going

to go into prayer right now. We're going to ask

God to speak to us. The Lord has laid some things

in my heart. I want to hopefully take my time

to break some things down. i believe there is

a kernel of truth there is a principle of growth

that god wants us to see today from his word

why don't we pray father we thank you we love

you today god for your presence that abides in

this house of worship this house of prayer and

we're asking god that that as we transition god

to the hearing of your word that that same anointing

god that has permeated the sounds, the music,

the worship, God, would increase upon the hearing

of your word. Anoint our understanding, God,

so that he who has an ear would hear what the

Spirit is saying to the church. Anoint my lips

of clay so that every word that comes out of

my mouth, God, would be edifying and glorifying

to your name. We give you the glory, give you

the thanks. We declare this right now, God. Strengthen

somebody today, Lord. Lift somebody up from where

they are, God, and help them, God, along that

journey. We ask this in Jesus' mighty name, we

pray, amen, amen. You can be seated in the presence

of God. Isaiah 40 and 31 is one of the most beloved

verses in all the Bible. We quote it. We share

it. We see it printed all over the place, right?

Magnets on our refrigerators at home or calendars,

posters, coffee mugs. It's one of those types

of verses that we cling to. We love to repeat.

And there's something quite unusual about the

structure of the verse that. I've noticed, but

I've never really dug into, paid attention until

the Holy Spirit brought it to my attention recently.

And I want you to notice the order of the verse.

It talks about flying or soaring, running, and

walking. Now, if you think about it, friend,

church, brother, sister, think about it. doesn't

follow the natural progression. Human logic expects

progression to build up to a climax. In fact,

we will say sometimes to someone hoping to achieve

something greater in their life, maybe a promotion

at the job or some area of success that they're

striving for physically, sometimes we'll tell

them, you know, hey, You got to crawl before

you walk, right? How many of you ever heard that

before? Or we might say, you know, you got to

walk before you run, right? And we say that because

that's the natural progression of things. And

it's very true. Crawling before walking, walking

before running, and certainly running before

flying. And if I was to write this verse, which

I didn't, that probably would have been my perspective.

You start slow, and then you gradually build

up to something much higher. I think that's what

the advice most of us would give to anybody trying

to do anything in life, no matter if it's a spiritual

thing, a private. personal thing. That's the

general advice. That's just generally good advice.

Amen? Start slow and you work your way up. You

progress. But here Isaiah flips it around. And

instead, he writes the reverse order. And I want

to ask the question why. It's not because...

He's describing or he's not describing natural

progression as we have come to know it. He's

describing spiritual maturity. And I want you

to know that God today, I might preach today,

but I also just might teach this thing because

there are some really good things I want to get

to. Somebody say that's all right. Amen. God

isn't just concerned with how high you can fly.

He isn't just preparing you for mountaintop moments.

He's training you instead for a daily walk. A

daily walk. I know that doesn't sound very exciting,

but just bear with me for a moment. Isaiah's

verse isn't the first time that God does things

in reverse. God is a paradoxical God in many

ways. Don't forget, he's the same God who shrunk

Gideon's army before going into battle with the

Midianites. He did the opposite of what Gideon

wanted. He wanted a bigger army. And God shrunk

it down. He's the same God who chose David over

his stronger, older, bigger brothers to be anointed

the next king of Israel. He is the God who said

things such as, the last shall be first. And

the first. shall be last. Who said, whoever loses

his life for my sake will find it. The same God

who said, humble yourself and God will exalt

you. You see, this goes against everything that

the natural world or life, natural life, is telling

us. But over and over again, Scripture shows

us that God's power flows in the opposite direction

of human logic. So just when you think you've

got God figured out, he does something in reverse

that says, wait a minute, this wasn't in that

best -selling self -help success book that I

read. This wasn't in that course that I took.

This wasn't what my neighbor told me or what

my friend said or my loved one. Why is God putting

things in reverse when I'm trying to get ahead?

He is the God who chose the foolish to confound

the wise, the weak to confound the mighty. See,

God doesn't work like we do. Somebody say amen.

He doesn't work like we do. He doesn't think

like we think. He doesn't operate the way we

do. He chooses the underdog. He goes for the

least likely. He does things in reverse. And

so when Isaiah writes about how God will renew

our strength to those that wait on him and...

He begins to draw this picture for us about soaring

and then running and walking. He's actually revealing

a heavenly pattern to us. He's showing us how

God works in our lives. And if you're not careful,

you can make the mistake of misreading, misunderstanding

what God is actually doing and waste your time.

Getting angry, upset, either with God or with

man over whatever perceived lack of progress

you're seeing in your life. Whether it's a physical

thing, a spiritual thing, whatever that thing

might be. And so, Isaiah reveals to us, once

again, like others in Scripture, that God works

in the reverse order. But the message is clear

to us today. And this is what I hope to encourage

you with. And direct you with today is that God,

no matter what level we're at, no matter what

season, God gives us strength for every season.

Why don't we clap our hands and let's just thank

God for that. Amen, somebody. Gives us strength

for every season. It isn't that the eagle's wings

are better than... The walking legs or the running

legs or vice versa, it isn't that one has a higher

virtue than the other. It's just that God works

in our lives through different seasons, and strength

is needed for different dimensions of life. And

so why don't we begin today with that first dimension

of strength that we need, and that's soaring

strength. And soaring strength is needed so that

we can be courageous. Someone say courageous.

We need soaring strength to be courageous. They

shall mount up with wings like eagles. This is

the strength. He's describing the strength to

rise. This is when God lifts you out of something.

When he gives you supernatural power and perspective.

When he carries you beyond what you can do on

your own. This type of strength you will undoubtedly

need. At some point in your life. Maybe not every

day. Maybe not today. Brothers, sisters, maybe

not even tomorrow or this week. But I guarantee

that if you keep living, you're going to need

this kind of strength at some point. You're going

to need it when you get that diagnosis that there's

no cure. You're going to need it when they hand

you that. That pink slip terminating, laying

you off at your job. You're going to need it

when you get news from a loved one or a family

member that doesn't sit well. It kind of goes

against what you, but you're going to need it

for a lot of situations in life that presents

an impossibility for man. These are those eagle

moments, and I thank God for them. Hallelujah.

Where that supernatural strength invigorates

us, lifts us from where we are, and takes us

to places in the spirit, in life, that we could

have never arrived to on our own. Let me tell

you a little bit about eagles today. Hallelujah.

I could preach a whole message on eagles. But

eagles are like no other bird in the animal kingdom.

You know that they don't flap their wings. like

pigeons and sparrows. You never see an eagle

getting ready to fly and start fluttering his

wings all crazy, like, I'm getting ready to fly,

you know? Want me to see you do that again? No,

hallelujah. You don't see them doing that, brother

or sister. They don't flap their wings. In fact,

there's no other bird created by God in this

world that flies quite like an eagle because

what an eagle does, It will find a place at the

cliff, at the edge of the rock, or its nest,

and all the eagle will do was spread its wings.

Amen. It spreads its wings, and then it waits

for the current to rise. And when the current

rise, with its wings spread, it simply lets the

wind do the lifting. Hallelujah. It lets the

wind catch underneath its wings, and it waits

for the wind. It dare not just jump off the cliff.

You say, well, I'm an eagle after all. I know

how to do this and just jump off and take a nosedive.

No, the eagle is smart enough to wait for the

wind to begin to blow. And when that wind blows,

it recognizes, it's time to spread my wings.

Because what's about to happen next has got nothing

to do with how strong I am. How gifted I am.

How knowledgeable I am. Everything that happens

next is about how powerful. The wind is underneath

my wing. I've come to tell you that's a picture

of what happens in the Holy Ghost. When you need

a miracle from God, when you need a divine breakthrough

from God, it's not going to be medicine. It's

not going to be your lawyer. It's not going to

be your neighbor. It's not going to be anybody

else. It's going to be you responding to the

wind that God is blowing in your life. And if

you are spiritually wise enough, you won't let

the wind pass you by. My God, somebody ought

to give the Lord some praise today. You will

spread your wings and begin to worship and thank

God for what he's going to do. Why don't you

give God some praise this afternoon? This is

what the Hebrews experienced when God brought

them out of Egypt. They didn't come out of Egypt

on their own strength. They would have been stuck

there if God never moved. But the Lord told them

this in Exodus 19, 4. You have seen what I did

to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's

wings. And I brought you to myself. God said,

what I did, you had nothing to do with. I'm the

one that sent the ten plagues. I'm the one that

defeated Pharaoh's magicians. I'm the one that

parted the Red Sea so that you can walk across

dry ground and see Pharaoh's armies drown underneath

all that water. I'm the one that did that. Don't

you ever forget that it wasn't you. It wasn't

your good looks. It wasn't the school you graduated

from. It wasn't the family that you were born

into. It was none of those things. It was the

fact that I put you on my wings and I miraculously

brought you out. I don't know. There might be

somebody here. day that needs soaring strength

in your life you might need the courage to believe

that God's going to do the impossible and I've

come to tell you just keep waiting on the Lord

and if you wait on the Lord how many of you are

waiting on a miracle I'm waiting on God if you

will wait on the Lord he will give you soaring

strength and he'll do the impossible so God gives

us Those eagle moments. I don't know about you,

but I love those eagle moments. The disciples

of Christ, three of them, they loved the eagle

moments so much when they went up with Jesus

on the Mount of Transfiguration. They told the

Lord, do we have to leave? Why don't we just

build the temple right here? I don't want to

go back down the mountain. And Jesus said, no,

we got work to do. We got to go back down the

mountain. I don't know about you, but when I'm

on the eagle's wings, man, I don't want to come

down. I want to stay there. And we want to stay

there. But that's not reality. That's not spiritual

growth. Spiritual growth is not running from

one miracle to the next, my friend. God's a good

God and he will bless and he will do miraculous

things. But that's not spiritual growth. There's

another level. There's another dimension of strength

that will help us because soaring doesn't last

forever. That is. Running strength. Someone say

running strength. And we need running strength.

Why? So that we'll maintain godly passion to

do what God has called us to do. They shall run,

Isaiah says, and not be weary. That word weary

is significant. It doesn't mean tired. Like the

way we think physically. There's a different

type of, you know, fatigue. He's not talking

about physical tiredness. He's talking about

weariness of the soul and the heart. Spiritual

maturity takes us from the eagle's heights. It

takes us from soaring levels to running levels.

Why? Because like I said a moment ago, you cannot

live off. high moments alone. You cannot fulfill

your purpose and destiny just going from one

high to the next. And those that try to do that

ultimately crash and burn. Their highs are real

highs and their lows are real lows. And you got

to scrape us off the floor. to get back up there

because they haven't discovered running strength.

The whole point of high points is to inspire

us not to stay there because we can't stay there,

but to motivate and inspire us to run vigorously

with everything that we have towards God's call

in our life. There may be somebody here today,

hear me in the Holy Ghost, your frustration is

not, Anything other than you waiting on God to

do something he's already done. Your progress,

your growth is not because of God. Not because

of anybody else. It's the simple fact that you're

spreading your wings at a time where you ought

to be running. Woo, my God. Waiting for the wind

to blow at a time where you ought to be running.

Running with what? Running with purpose. Running

with passion. Running to do something. You see,

when God calls you, he expects you to run. Amen,

somebody. When he calls you, he expects you to

run. Hallelujah. Not to fly. Not to catch an

Uber. Amen. But to run. Amen. With everything.

You see, in the Bible, running correlates with

fulfilling a divine assignment. Often when you

see a runner, it's because they've got a divine

purpose. In Habakkuk, the Lord said these words

in chapter 2, verse 2. Write the vision and make

it plain on tablets that he may run who reads

it. The word of the Lord was, I've got a vision.

I've got a mission. I've got an assignment. But

I can't give this to a walker or a flyer. I need

a runner. I need somebody who's determined. I

need somebody who's got their mind made up. I

need somebody who is laser focused. I need somebody

who's got their eye on the prize. I need somebody

who's undistracted by the affairs and the emotions

and the inner personalities of life. I need somebody

whose sole objective is to get to where exactly

I'm calling them to go. Woo, my God. Let me tell

you, not everybody's a runner. Not everybody

is a runner. And the reason they're not a runner,

well, I'll get to that in a moment, but things

can weigh us down. But here's the point. Running

is the act of passion. It's what we need to get

the job done. The Bible, you know, the Bible's

got some famous runners. Got some famous runners,

notable runners. Like, how about when Elijah,

there's a story when Elijah, Bible says he outran

a chariot. I don't know if he was wearing Nikes

or Adidas, but that boy was running. And he was

running so fast, he outran a chariot. It was

like outrunning a car. How do you do that? Supernatural

strength. God will give you the strength. To

run. And you know what you're going to do? Man,

I could preach on that too. You will outrun.

Hallelujah. You will outrun, outperform, not

because of you, but because of the strength,

the blessing, the favor that God has given you

to those things that are more qualified than

you. What's faster, a human runner or a chariot

with a horse? Chariot with a horse. That's what

on the outside should be faster. But God, when

he strengthens you to run the race that he's

called you to run, you will be able to do things

that man cannot explain. My God, I'm getting

excited now. You'll be able to outrun things

you have no business outrunning. How about David?

He ran towards Goliath. He said, give me a shot

at this guy. Everybody is crying and sad. and

miserable. He ran towards Goliath. That's what

you do when you've got purpose. Oh, hallelujah.

The prodigal's father, when he was coming home,

the Bible said he ran out to meet his son out

in the field. Why did the father run? Because

he was on a mission. He said, I got to meet my

son where he is, and that's what running will

do. You've got a purpose. You've got a mission

you've got to fulfill. Philip, he ran. to the

chariot and was able to witness to that Ethiopian

eunuch and convert him to Christianity. He ran.

Let me tell you, you can't fly to these places.

There are certain things in God you can't be

carried there. You've got to run. But again,

as I said a moment ago prematurely, but I said

there are many that cannot run or they want to

run, but they can't. Why? Because they allow

things to weigh them down. And the Bible tells

us in Hebrews 12, 1, it tells us lay aside. Let

us lay aside. Someone say lay aside. Come on,

say, say lay aside. Let us lay aside every weight

and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let

us run. Our race, let us run with endurance or

patience, the race that is set before us. And

he is telling us, Paul or the writer of Hebrews

is painting a picture of a runner. He said, don't

be like those runners that get weighed down with

the affairs of life, that get weighed down with

issues and burdens and cares and also with sin

and disobedience. He said, don't be weighed down

because you've got a race to run. cannot let

the... I feel today that somebody has got to

take off those things that have been weighing

you down. Another translation says, strip yourself.

In the Amplified Bible, strip off those things

and throw aside every encumbrance. I've come

to preach to somebody here today, whether it's

a person, a passion, a thing, a material thing,

a spiritual thing, whatever it is, if it's getting

in the way of you running your race, God is...

Calling you to strip it off of your life so that

you can run vigorously for the Lord. Hallelujah.

Strip it off. Don't blame the devil for things

you haven't stripped off your life. Don't blame

anybody. Don't blame your neighbor. Don't blame

the church. Don't blame anybody. Don't blame

anybody for the things that you haven't stripped

off your life and old mindsets and old attitudes

and old emotions and old things and sin and disobedience

and addictions and bad habits. These are things

today that God is saying, I'm going to give you

strength to strip those things off of your life.

Why? So that you can run your race with endurance.

Oh, the Bible says that he who endures to the

end, amen, and Mark, he who endures to the end

shall be saved. I don't want to just start my,

a lot of people start the race and they don't

finish strong, brother. You know this? They don't

finish strong. They're sprinters. God's not looking

for sprinters. He's looking for marathon runners.

Hallelujah. Amen. He's looking for long distance

runner. You know, people with stamina, people

that can keep on running. I've been running.

going to reach my destination. Hallelujah. I'm

going to... what God has called me to do. I've

got a vision to carry. How many of you, God has

given you a vision for your life? Amen. If you

don't have a vision, God wants to put a vision

in your heart for your life. I've got a vision

to raise a godly family. I've got a vision to

have a healthy marriage. I've got a vision to

build the kingdom of God. I've got a vision to

build a career that is Christ -centered. I've

got a vision to do these things for the Lord,

and I've got to run. with everything that I have.

And I can't let nothing get in the way. Am I

talking to some runners today? Hallelujah. Somebody

give the Lord some praise. Am I talking to some

runners that I've got to run this race? So Isaiah,

in his reverse order, which makes sense in heaven,

starts with flying. In the middle, he gets to

running. And then finally, He brings us to the

third dimension of strength. He talks about walking.

I want to just for, if you will allow, give me

a few more moments, please, to talk about walking

strength. And you need walking strength. Why?

Not necessarily to be courageous or to be passionate

like the others, but to be faithful. Amen. Somebody

say faithful. He said, they shall walk and not

faint. Notice he didn't use the word that he

used for running, not be weary, but not faint.

There's something to that. Isaiah's reverse order

culminates. It ends in a way that, I'll be honest,

if this were a movie, it would be like anticlimactic.

It would be like, that's not how it's supposed

to end. We're supposed to end, you know, with

the trophy, you know, parading around the football

field, you know, those sports movies. I mean,

we're supposed to end on cloud nine. But here,

he ends with the act that many of us would just

consider boring. Walking. After you have soared,

after you have ran, walking just doesn't feel

right. quite as exciting. Let's be honest today,

amen. Not as exciting as flying like an eagle.

Not very glamorous. But let me tell you that

the real test, and this is what God marked in

my spirit to present, to teach, preach here today.

The real test of maturity is not how high you

can fly. nor how fast you can run, but how faithfully

you can walk. Everybody wants to fly. Some people

want to run. But it's hard to find people who

want to walk. It's not glamorous, not flashy.

Wouldn't want to post it on Instagram, hashtag

walking. It's not very attractive. We'd rather

post hashtag soaring, soaring for Jesus. Wow,

brother, I want to be like you. But in my world,

I don't know about your world, walking is the

best measurement of how I'm doing spiritually.

Not flying. Not even running. But walking. No

one claps for it. But let me tell you today.

Amen. Walking in the spirit. I don't just mean

walking in general. While it's good for our health.

But walking in the spirit over a lifetime. Not

in spurts. Not in just seasons. But over a lifetime

is the most faithful movement. Of all. Oh, hallelujah.

Man, I feel like I brought a few of you down

right now. But I'm going to lift you back up

in the Holy Ghost. Hey, as I get ready to close,

amen. I've seen people, been in church my whole

life, and I thank the Lord for that, ministry

almost 25 years. Not perfect. Made mistakes just

like everyone else. And I've seen others make

mistakes. And I've seen a lot. And I'll tell

you this. I've seen people fly. I've seen people

fly. And I'm talking about spiritually. I've

seen people fly who never learned to walk. I've

even seen people run. I mean, man. Like Elijah

did. Put on the burners, you know. I'm like,

man, we both started at the same, and they're

way over there, and I'm still back here. It's

like the tortoise and the hare. They're strong

runners in the Lord, but never learned to walk.

People who can fly high. People who can run to

and fro. Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. Wow. But

lack spiritual disciplines. Are you all still

with me today? I said, are you with me? Soaring.

Soaring. I came to preach about all three, but

the emphasis here is in walking. Soaring takes

courage. Running takes passion, but walking takes

faith. Paul said, we walk for we walk by faith,

not by sight. You know, it takes faith to keep

walking day after day. my Lord. It takes faith

to keep walking. I didn't come here to preach

you. If you need a miracle, God can give you

one. But we got people who get their miracles

and they never get faithful. Got people who run,

but when they stop running, they're not faithful

in the little things that God calls them to do.

We're not here to downplay those things at all.

But God is trying to get all of us, myself included,

everybody, to walking strength. You need walking

strength today. Why? You need to learn how to

walk, brother and sister, when things don't go

your way. Amen. You need to learn how to walk.

Keep doing your spiritual disciplines, prayer,

fasting, reading your Bible, living holy, maintaining

your standards, all of these things when life

doesn't go your way. It's not glamorous. It's

not flashy. No one's going to, you know, throw

you a party over it. But you know who notices?

Someone say who. He notices. You know, there

was a man in the Bible named Enoch. This man

made it in the Bible. Bible doesn't record any,

he never, there are no soaring moments recorded

in the Bible. He never called fire down from

heaven, never performed a miracle. There's not

even any running moments in this man's life.

We don't see him building any temples or carrying

out some important task. All the Bible says about

this man is that he walked. And Enoch walked

with God. That's it. You can live a successful

Christian life. Even if you never soar to the

highest mountains, even if you never run with

the best of them, but if you just walk, oh, my

God, with God, day after day after day, when

it's in season and when it's out of season, when

it's trending and when it's not trending, when

it's fashionable, when it's not fashionable.

If you just keep walking with him, you know who's

going to notice? Would you stand with me today?

God's going to notice. He's going to notice.

Put the scripture back up. He's going to notice.

And Enoch walked with God. And you know what

God did? He took him straight to glory. God said,

I am so impressed. With how you walk. You just,

you're faithful. You just keep doing the normal

stuff you're supposed to do as a believer. And

because you keep doing that, I am so impressed

with your walk. You could have given up. You

could have fainted a long time ago. Don't you

think Enoch had problems in his life? Sickness,

disease. He lived in the same broken world that

you and I live in. He didn't get a pass for those

things. He didn't live in a bubble. He had to

deal with the same issues of life. And God was

so impressed. You keep showing up Sunday after

Sunday. You keep praying every morning. You don't

give up. You just keep walking. And God was so

impressed. He said, you know what? I can't wait

till you die. I'm going to take you right now.

And so he's the only man in the Old Testament

that just escaped death altogether. He was raptured.

That's the power of a walk. And if you keep walking,

you know what's going to happen? David said,

yea, though I walk. Through the valley of the

shadow of death, I will fear no. He didn't say,

I fly. He didn't say, I run. He said, I'm just

walking through it right now. Some of you are

in a valley today. Oh, hallelujah. Would you

begin to press right now into the spirit? Would

you begin to open up your heart to another level

in God's spirit today that he wants to work in

your life? You're in a valley, some of you. Some

of your valleys right now, they're lower than

your neighbors or they're darker than your friends

or everybody. got their own, but you're walking

through a valley and you feel like almost like

you almost want to faint. Like you just like

how many? I don't know if I could take it another

day. I don't know if I can keep smiling the way

I have. I don't know if I can keep worshiping

the way I have. I don't know if I can keep giving

the way I have now, especially since they cut

back my hours at work. And, you know, they're

talking layoff. and economy and all that. You

know, I'm about to be replaced by AI and all

this stuff. I don't know. And I'm kind of nervous.

Should I keep tithing? And you just keep, you

know, they've got all these thoughts coming to

you. I don't know if I can do it or not. I'm

just about at the end of how far I can go. I've

taken all I can take. You know, I'm getting tired.

I'm not sure. I'm starting to get weary. But

my Bible says that if you will wait on the Lord,

he will. If there's a runner, if there's a flyer

here today, that says I need God. If you need

more of God's strength, I want you to begin to

close your eyes. And this altar will be open

right now. If there's anybody today that wants

to come because God wants to give you new strength

this afternoon. Oh, he wants to give you new

strength. He wants to give it. Baby, you need

a maybe you need eagle's wings. He said, Pastor,

I've been walking, but today I need to get on

the eagle's wings. God. wants to lift you up

to a whole other level. Why don't you spread

your wings and let the wind do the work? Hallelujah.

Oh, somebody here, you need to get your run back.

Oh, God wants to strengthen your legs in the

spirit so that you can run. Come on, pick up

your calling again. Pick up your purpose again.

Pick up your gift that you laid down. Pick up

your ministry that you put aside. Pick this thing

up and let's run for the Lord. Let's run for

Jesus. Oh, I feel like I'm talking to somebody

right now. And if you want to walk like you've

never walked, you're saying, Pastor, I have flown

and I have ran, but I am struggling in my daily

walk. God is calling you right now. Be strengthened

in the Lord. Be strengthened in the Lord. Be

strengthened in your convictions. Be strengthened

in your spirit. Be strengthened. your disciplines

be strengthened with your walk be strengthened

with your talk be strengthened today