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(I wrote this Sermonette for my friend’s 40th birthday. Hope you’ll be encouraged by it too).
BE LIKE AN EAGLE !
‘A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.
Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat on his strong golden wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked. "That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbour. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth - we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.’
Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat on his strong golden wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked. "That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbour. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth - we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.’
Eagles were made to soar not to live their lives like a chicken in the barnyard eating grubs and worms. When Jesus referred to chickens, he illustrated the type of people in Jerusalem who would not listen to his message. They travel in crowds, broods, and are earth-bound. They keep their eyes on the things of the world. They never lift up their heads to see Him who is above. They live on handouts and whatever unclean things they can find. Chickens cannot fly except to find a roost. They are confined by fences and are satisfied.
Eagles, on the other hand, have inherited a nature that cannot and will not survive captivity. He must be free to soar high in the sky. It may seem lonely up there, but the eagle doesn’t care. Because it is his nature to soar – not live with the multitudes in captivity.
God’s Word has much to say about the eagle. Proverbs 30:18, 19 “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky” (NIV).
The eagle is an amazing creature with many favourable characteristics:
Some of which include: - faithfulness; discipline; vision; determination; confidence; strength; boldness; courage; graceful; persistence; fearlessness; patience – these are only some.
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When dark clouds start gathering for a storm, the eagle uses its sharp eyes to pierce through the clouds to look for the nearest mountain peak, where it will rise to.
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Despite the challenge of the storm, the eagle knows how to position itself to make the most of the wind.
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An eagle will perseverance in the storm until it gets through it rising above towards the sun.
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Wherever its heading it stays focus on the goal, allowing nothing to distract it.
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He welcomes a storm because it enables it to soar higher.
When we come to Christ we have to die to our chicken life, looking up by faith to him who can enable us to persevere until we become as the adult eagle.
You were created to soar like an eagle – not to live like a chicken. The furthest that most chicken get is to the Christmas dinner table. Do you see anyone making a meal out of the eagle? To become who God wants you to be you need to have a different mentality. You must first understand who you are in Christ, not answering to what others call you, but lift your head towards heaven where as you gaze at the Son of Righteousness, He will equip you to become more like Him.
It’s never too late to start over. And God has spared your life to see this wonderful life-changing day, where as we say ‘life begins! From personal experience it does, and you can adopt an eagle’s mentality for the rest of your life.
As you approach this milestone in life, the storms of life will gather, it’s not time to run for cover like the barnyard chicken but you can choose to look up with confidence knowing that if you spread out your wings of faith, your heavenly Father will enable you to glide on the air pockets of the Holy Spirit towards the Son of righteousness.
In Isaiah 40:31 it shows that eagles are symbolic of a certain type of person. “But they that wait (Hebrew, Qawah – look for patiently; hope; to expect) upon the Lord . . . shall mount up (Hebrew, Alah – be exalted/raised up; to grow up) with wings as eagles” (Isaiah 40:31). All children of God must learn to “mount up” like an eagle. Only those who will come to wait in His presence will be conformed to the image of the Son of God.
Deuteronomy 32:11 teaches us about soaring like an eagle. It tells how the eagle gets his introduction to the practice of soaring in the heavens. The mother eagle “stirs up her nest”, “flutters over her young”, “spreads abroad her wings”, and “bears them on her wings.” The time comes when every eagle must leave the soft, secure nest and live the eagle life.
Looking down from the heights of its nest is scary for the young eaglet. It’s also dangerous. He is reluctant to venture out, so the mother makes it very uncomfortable in the nest. She tears up the soft bed, beats her wings over the eaglets, and finally spreads her wings and the eaglet is taken for a ride on her back. Suddenly the eaglet tumbles off and must either spread its wings and learn to fly or crash to the ground. Tumbling end over end, the eaglet utters a frightened screech. After what seems like almost certain death, the mother eagle flies underneath and “bears it up on eagles wings”, until it learns to soar like an eagle.
An eagle learns to soar by using thermal currents of air. Soaring saves the eagle energy because it does not have to flap its wings as often.
We too can soar on wings of faith. Faith is a heart condition where we stretch out and reach toward the Lord, while the wind of His Spirit holds us afloat.
When we soar, we are resting in our trust in the Lord and letting Him carry us amidst the surrounding terrain. The Lord teaches us through faith, how to rise above difficulties and hindrances in our life. We learn how to rise high enough to gain His perspective on what is below. This is when we need to quietly observe and abide in Christ.
Waiting in general is hard and I am sure we’d all agree that the hardest lesson in life is to learn to wait upon Him and not do something in our own strength. But He wants us to wait upon Him because He wants to carry us so we don’t suffer burnout in flapping our wings! The truth is, when one learns to abide in Him, they learn the secret of waiting upon Him for everything they do.
Isaiah 40:31
He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind. (The Message)
He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind. (The Message)
God will give you energy when you are tired. He will give you, mental, strength when you become weary, to refresh your faith. He knows you get tired. He knows you will trip and fall. He knows there are times you won’t believe. But He will pick you back up and place you on your feet again. He will rekindle your faith, keep your lamps trimmed and burning, trust His words cause He cannot lie and you will spread your wings and soar like eagles. May God bless you completely as you embark upon this new journey!
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