- 1 Cor. 16:14
There are several references in the bible regarding eagles and their soaring close to Heaven. Eagles often build their nests high in the mountains; as near to Heaven as you can get.
God is always desiring for us to come up higher in our knowledge and understanding of who He is; i.e., to get as close to Him in Heaven as we can possibly get. The best way to do that is summed up in Exodus 19:3-5, which reads:
3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
The bible is a series of “if-then” clauses as noted in the scripture above. “If you will indeed obey My voice,” “Then you shall be a special treasure to Me.” When we are obedient to Him, He can take us to places we never imagined were possible.
I don’t know about you, but going to church every Sunday, and to an occasional Wednesday night bible study is not enough for me. I hunger for more of God. I spend time with Him at home. I talk to Him in the car, in the shower, driving to work, etc. I want to go wherever He wants to take me. Doing ministry is not as important to God as sitting at His feet and learning more of who is He, and how much He loves us. However, we are His hands and His feet, so He has set a course in our destiny to reach His lost people, and how can we do that effectively until we are so in love with Him, that He is everything to us?
Some Christians will think they are ready to fly, and decide that it is time for them to take off in flight without checking with the air traffic controller first – i.e., God. Unfortunately, what happens is that they have ventured out on their own, not waiting for God to say, “Go!”
It happens all too frequently. Birds do not automatically fly out of the nest, they watch and learn, and through a series of trial and error, practice flapping their wings until they are able to fly.
Everything is in God’s timing, which for most of us is not fast enough. We think God should move a little faster, but God knows best. So, until He says, “Go,” please sit at His feet, and wait, and learn more of Him. That is precisely what Mary did versus her sister, Martha. Martha was intent on doing good works; Mary was intent on learning who God really is.
Some of you will fly at levels that others will not be able to obtain -- because they did not spend enough time sitting at the feet of Jesus, like Mary did.
Waiting is hard, I know, especially when your flight is about to take off. When I travel, I love to get to the airport early showing up 3 to 4 hours before my scheduled departure just to watch the planes take off and land. I get so excited wondering what my adventure will be like, wondering what God has in store for me.
God wants to make sure that you have all the tools and resources necessary before He lets you take off. So, in order to be free to soar like the eagles to the Heavens, we need to wait on God to give us our “flight plan” so we know how to get there, and most importantly – when to get there.
Why have we had to wait for such a long time? Two reasons, the first being that God is full of grace and mercy, and He is waiting for the hearts of His people to be ready to hear His truth which will be spoken through us to His people. He is jockeying people into position to receive His Word. He does not want one child to miss it, so He will extend His grace and mercy to that one, prepping them and preparing them to receive that one prophetic word, to hear that one anointed sermon that will change their life, and cause them to know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
God is perfect and He knows the perfect time to reach that person.
The second reason: God wants to make sure we are prepared for what lies ahead. He does not want us to hit any turbulents. He wants to make sure we are fully equipped with the knowledge of who He is, so we can give His people an accurate account of the God we love so much.
Moving ahead of God’s timing is not recommended. God has already planned your promotion. Since promotion only comes from God, let God tell you when it is time to soar. Matthew 20:16 says: So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen. Some people choose themselves, and promote themselves without checking with God first. If you remember this one thing, you will have great success in your walk with the Lord:
The CALLED are the CHOSEN who WAITED to be sent.
In Luke 24:49, Jesus is speaking and He says this:
“Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
We have been in a holding pattern, some of us for years, waiting to be used by God, but fear not, it is almost time for God to send us out to evangelize, and for some of us we will be taking flight to fly overseas, as well. For God says in Luke 24:47:
“Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations.”
A lot of times, people forget that besides being the God of the United States, God is also the God of ALL the Nations. His children are everywhere, and He desires that none of them should perish. Matthew 18:13-15 confirms this:
And if He should find it, assuredly, I say to you, He rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
God also wants to make sure that we are girded up with strength to endure the enemy that lurks in these last days. The devil fights dirty, and being so close to the return of Jesus, the devil is fighting even dirtier. God allowed David to be chased by Saul for over 14 years, and Paul was in the wilderness all alone with God for over 3 years.
It is only the anointing that breaks the yokes of bondage off of people, and there is a heavy price to pay for that anointing. It takes time – years, in fact, to become seasoned, and strengthened by the Lord. Reading who God is in a text book pales in comparison to actually experiencing the physical trials and tribulations that make us who we are in Christ. When I am hurt, I want someone to minister to me who can relate to my pain because they lived through it themselves, not because they read it out of a text book. So, God spends time seasoning us to be effective ministers and ambassadors of Christ.
Let me give you a perfect example. Things were going fine in my life, but in 2008 the economy turned sour. Now as a minister, how am I going to know the pain of someone losing their home without actually experiencing firsthand the ups and downs, and sufferings personally. So, yes, of course, I was laid off from my job. Wow! The feelings and emotions I experienced were none I had ever felt before. Thoughts of ending up sleeping in my car haunted me.
When a person who has just lost their job says to me, “Gee, I just sit in the living room and stare at the ceiling; I’m too frozen to move,” I understand them. I was there, too. I can count every crack and crevice in my living room ceiling. God allowed me to go through it, so that I could comfort them, and encourage them to keep going. I am able to let them know that God will deliver them out of it, just like He delivered me out of it.
Jesus was bruised for our iniquities. Trust me. He physically felt our pain. He took our sins to the cross – the sins we committed in the past, as well as the sins we will commit in the future, and He felt the suffering and the pain of them all. Everything you have been through up to and including this point in time was allowed by Almighty God. He was seasoning you and preparing you, and none of it was a waste of time. God is anointing you to carry a message of hope and love and deliverance to a generation of people – here and, for some of us, overseas. Evangelism is on the rise.
God is getting ready to take the church outside of the church and into the streets. If the people will not come to the church, then God will bring the church to the people. Watch as more and more “market place ministries” start to spring up. So, do not be alarmed if church attendance decreases inside the four walls of your building, it is a sign from God that He is getting you ready to soar.
Isaiah 40:31:
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. And they will soar – with God as their Pilot!
Cross Creek Bridge Ministries
P.O. Box 572391
Tarzana, CA 91357
Tel: (818) 881-2009
Toll-Free: (877) 303-CCBM (2009)
Cross Creek Bridge Ministries is a qualified IRS Section 501(c)(3) Organization