Guest blogger - Jerry Boyer from www.heart-talks.com
"He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them on her wings: So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields, and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock." Deuteronomy 32:10-12.
"Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. Her young ones also suck up blood. and where the slain are, there is she." Job 39:27-30.
"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." Isaiah 40:31.
"And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Revelation 18:2.
The Most Powerful Of All Birds
The Bible speaks of foul spirits and of unclean and hateful birds. Over and over in the Word of God, we read of different kinds of birds, but mainly the eagle. I have done some studying and have found that the eagle is mentioned thirty-two times in the Word of God.
"http://www.fws.gov/
"http://www.fws.gov/
As the lion is to the animal world, so the eagle is to the bird family. "http://en.wikipedia.org/
An eagle can see a rabbit as far away as two miles and sweep down in one move and capture it. It will kill that rabbit, drink its blood, eat the fresh meat, and then will take the fur and put it in its nest. The eagle is not a wasteful bird.
Sometimes Christian people waste a lot of things. Some waste the talents that God gives them When we have talents, we ought to use them to the glory of God. Many times we waste our time. Some people who claim to be saved waste their time in front of the television set. They waste their time in things that do not edify themselves or other people. An eagle is not like that, my friend; it takes advantage of all the time it has.
We read in Job 39:29 of our Scripture text, "From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off." You might have heard the statement made many times, "He has an eye like an eagle." The eagle can behold things afar off. No animal in the world has an eye like an eagle.
I thought on that verse, and I am glad that God can see way down the road. Our vision can only see so far. There are things that happen to each one of us that we may never understand, but God's vision goes far beyond what ours does. What we need to do, as Christians, is learn to say amen to the will of God and know that He knows what is best for us.
Free to Soar as the Eagle
An average eagle has 7,182 feathers; it has approximately 1,250 on each wing. An eagle flies only 10 percent of the time; the other 90 percent is spent gliding. As Christians, we need to take a lesson from this. We need to learn to yield to the Spirit of God. If we will learn to do that, it will not take a lot of human effort. The eagle has learned how to yield to the winds, and they carry it higher and higher. Most of its time in the air is spent yielding to the wind.
Of all the birds, the eagle flies the highest. If I believed in reincarnation (and I do not), and could choose what I would like to be when I came back, I would choose to be an eagle. However, even though I will never be a literal eagle, thank God, I can be one spiritually. We all can be spiritual eagles. We do not have to be unclean birds: we do not have to be one of those birds that is caged up in 'Babylon' (false religion). We can be set free and soar as the eagle.
I love that passage of Scripture found in Isaiah 40:31, because it deals with some positive statements. It says, "But they that wait upon the Lord…" What does it mean to wait? It does not mean to just sit down and do nothing, but rather to wait with anticipation and expectation. "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." It says they "shall," not that they might. I am glad that is positive and that we can stand on the Word of God.
Eagles maintain their beauty even in old age. Their average lifespan is somewhere between sixty and ninety years. If you would take and eagle that is sixteen months old and compare it with an eagle that is fifty to seventy years, you could not tell the difference. They maintain their beauty, because they shed their feathers every year.
Be Strong in the Grace That is in Christ
Let us consider the strength of the eagle. The eagle is a powerful bird, yet it does not weigh very much. One day in Chicago, Illinois, there was a little eagle that was resting on a rock from his journey. A little boy came along and started picking up rocks and throwing them at the little eagle. Soon the eagle got tired of the boy's behavior and got upset with him. So it ran over, picked him up by his hair, carried him over a five-story building, and sat him down on the next street.
A policeman saw what happened and followed the eagle, and to keep that eagle from killing the little boy, he killed it. When they weighed that eagle, it weighed only twenty-two pounds, but the little boy weighed sixty-nine pounds.
A full-grown eagle can grab someone by the back of the hand and squeeze and break every bone in it. You see, the eagle is a powerful bird. The eagle is a type of what God wants you and me to be. He wants us to be strong Christians, and He has all the power we need. Someone may say, "I just wish I could become a stronger Christian." If you want to be a stronger Christian, you can be. Each one of us is as strong as we want to be, because God has placed that ability within our power. James 4:8 says, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." The reason people are no closer to God than they are is that they are not willing to take the first step. They sit on the 'seat of do-nothing' and say, "God, come over here and get closer to me."
The Apostle Paul said, "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (11 Timothy 2: 1). I believe we are living too far below our privileges. John 1:11-12 says: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God…" I am glad that God gives us the power to be sons of God. Someone may say, "I cannot live the Christian life." In reality, no one can live the Christian life within himself, but when God in and gives us the power, we can live it.
When I was in sin, I tried to turn over a new leaf, so to speak, and do better, but I found that I did not need to turn over a new leaf; I needed new life. When I got new life, old things passed away and all things became new. When a person really gets saved, all things beome new. He will find that the things he once loved to do, he does not love anymore, and the things he once hated, he will love. I am glad to be a child of God; I love this way of living best of all.
Soaring Higher Than the Storm
The eagle will not be found in a storm, with one exception, which I will deal with later. As winds begin to blow and the storm begins to come in, the eagle has learned to use its wings to soar higher than the storm. The eagle is not in the storm, but rather it soars above the storm, looking down upon it. As Christians, we are going to go through storms, but we would have to go through fewer storms if we would yield ourselves to the Spirit of God. A lot of the people get into are due to their own doings. We need to learn to yield to the Spirit of God; then we will be able to rise above a lot of perplexities.
An eagle will never allow its enemy to come between it and the sun. It has microscopic and telescopic lenses and a built in set of sunglasses. Whenever an enemy gets after it, it just turns, looks straight toward the sun, and starts flying toward it. There is not another bird in this world that can fly toward the sun like the eagle can, because the light would blind it and cause it to turn and go the other way. That is just how it is when the enemy of souls comes after me. Sometimes I look this way and cannot go, and I look that way and cannot go; but praise God, if I look straight up ahead, the enemy has to turn around and go the other way!
The eagle is not careless, as a lot of Christians are. It watches, and it has good eyesight. It can be so high up in the sky above the clouds that one cannot see it; then seemingly out of nowhere, it can sweep down, catch a big bass, and be gone with it fast as lightning; it is quick. You see, my friend, it keeps its eyes on the things around it.
The Bible warns us as Christian people to watch and pray. Oh, how we need to watch! First Thessalonians 5:6 tells us, "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." We need to be more sober and watchful. If we would, we would not get into some of the traps that we get into. Jesus Himself said in Mark 13:37, "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Paul said, "We are not ignorant of his [Satan's] devices" (II Corinthians 2:11). May God help us, as saints of God, not to be ignorant of Satan's devices.
An eagle will never allow its enemy to come between it and the sun. It has microscopic and telescopic lenses and a built in set of sunglasses. Whenever an enemy gets after it, it just turns, looks straight toward the sun, and starts flying toward it. There is not another bird in this world that can fly toward the sun like the eagle can, because the light would blind it and cause it to turn and go the other way. That is just how it is when the enemy of souls comes after me. Sometimes I look this way and cannot go, and I look that way and cannot go; but praise God, if I look straight up ahead, the enemy has to turn around and go the other way!
The eagle is not careless, as a lot of Christians are. It watches, and it has good eyesight. It can be so high up in the sky above the clouds that one cannot see it; then seemingly out of nowhere, it can sweep down, catch a big bass, and be gone with it fast as lightning; it is quick. You see, my friend, it keeps its eyes on the things around it.
The Bible warns us as Christian people to watch and pray. Oh, how we need to watch! First Thessalonians 5:6 tells us, "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." We need to be more sober and watchful. If we would, we would not get into some of the traps that we get into. Jesus Himself said in Mark 13:37, "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Paul said, "We are not ignorant of his [Satan's] devices" (II Corinthians 2:11). May God help us, as saints of God, not to be ignorant of Satan's devices.
If an eagle's mate dies, it does not go and find the mate of another eagle; instead, it goes and finds an eagle that does not have a mate. From the human standpoint, that is still the thing to do. The law has made things too easy today, and I am afraid that a lot of preachers have made it too easy. The rule is, "Till death do us part." That is still God's plan.
The Rock That Is Higher
The eagle is a symbol of freedom, flight, and faith. Every eagle is born on or near a rock, and it never changes rocks. About ten years ago, I was born on the Rock, and I am not going to change rocks. You can change rocks if you want to, but I like the Rock on which I was born. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." I am glad that I am on the Rock; I could not live without Him.
The eagle cannot live without its rock. If it did not have its rock, it would die. Steps are being taken today to preserve the eagles by taking them out of their natural habitat and bringing them inside to raise. However, the first thing the eagle does when it is let loose is fly as fast as it can to a rock and claim it. From that point on, that rock is always its rock.
I am glad that Christ picked me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a solid rock. Babylon's (religious confusion) rock is not solid, but I am glad that the Church (the one Jesus built) is built on a solid rock. When the eagle needs cleansing or comfort, it goes to its rock. Likewise, when I need cleansing or comfort, I go to the Rock. There are times when, as much as I love my family and friends, I cannot go to them, but I can always go to my Rock. When you cannot go to anyone else, you can always go to the Rock of Ages.
We read in Psalm 61:2, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." When my heart gets overwhelmed, I say, "Get me to the Rock!" That is the way the little eagle is: when it becomes overwhelmed, it thinks of its rock, and it soars back to it. To the eagle, that rock its salvation, and that rock is its place of separation, security, and satisfaction. Sometimes, the eagle likes to get away from all the other eagles and go to its rock.
I am glad that salvation satisfies the soul. Sometimes I am not satisfied with the things around me or with other people, and I am not always satisfied with myself; but thank God, I am always satisfied with my Rock. As much as I love my brothers and sisters in Christ, sometimes I like to get away from every one of them and get in the secret closet of prayer, with just me and my, Rock.
The eagle keeps its beak and its claws sharpened on its rock. If it did not, it could not kill its prey so quickly. Church, we need to stay sharp on the Rock. A lot of people today are sharp when it comes to television. They can name every actress that plays on the soap operas. They put a 'video tape in and record one show while they watch another one; then as soon as that show goes off, they get out that 'video tape and watch the one they missed. They can tell you about all the marriages, divorces, fornication, and all the other ungodliness that takes place on television; but if you would ask them where the Book of Philippians Is, in the Bible, they would say, "Is that in the Old or the New Testament?" People need to get sharp on the Rock.
When it comes to sports, there are people who can name nearly every player that has ever played, every one who is going to play, who is going to win, who did not win, and everything else. They are sharp on sports, but they are not sharp on the Word of God. If you are going to be sharp on everything else in life, you ought to be sharp on the Word.
The eagle is a meat eater from the day it is born until the day it dies; furthermore, it likes fresh meat. The little eagle is hatched with its mouth open just as wide as it can get it, and it is screaming and hollering for something to eat. That is just like the child of God. A child of God loves and hungers after the meat of God's Word. Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled!' (Matthew 5:6).
Have you ever seen a dead person eat? No, they cannot eat. The reason, many times, a pastor cannot feed people is that they are dead spiritually. It is hard to feed somebody who is not hungry. God will not make you eat; but if you will not eat, you will die.
Every true Christian is like the eagle: he is born with his mouth wide open. Jesus said in John 6:53, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." The Jews could not understand that, and they wondered how they could eat of His flesh. Jesus perceived their thoughts and said, "The flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (verse 63). When we eat the Word of God and drink of the Spirit of God, we are eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
An eagle is different from a buzzard. A buzzard will nibble and chew on any old thing, but the eagle wants fresh meat. If you are truly a child of God, you want something fresh too. You want the pure, unadulterated Word of God, that which is without guile or falsehood. Anything short of that will not satisfy you; you will turn your nose and go the other way.
You do not have to know much about birds to tell whether a bird is an eagle or just another bird. All you have to do is watch what they eat. The reason some people cannot be fed is that they spend their time feeding on the filthiness and ungodliness of this world. They are already full but not with the Word of God. Newborn babes still desire the sincere milk of the Word.
The Unity of the Eagles
The eagles have unity; they do not bite and scratch among themselves. If you will study about the Philippine eagle, the Australian eagle, the American bald eagle, and the great Golden eagle, you will find that they do not fight among themselves. In too many cases, do you know what we have today? Bottle babies, blabber bees, and busy bodies. The eagles love one another, help one another, and share with one another. If one of them goes out and kills a rabbit and it has more meat than it needs, it will call for some others to come and help eat it.
In I Corinthians 1:10 we read, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
I am glad that, as saints of God, we all can speak the same thing, because we have the same Father, and we all are part of the same church. I want to be an eagle, spiritually speaking. I do not want to be caged up in Babylon (false religion) with a bunch of unclean, hateful birds and foul spirits. I love the Church (the one Jesus built)
The Rock That Is Higher
The eagle is a symbol of freedom, flight, and faith. Every eagle is born on or near a rock, and it never changes rocks. About ten years ago, I was born on the Rock, and I am not going to change rocks. You can change rocks if you want to, but I like the Rock on which I was born. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." I am glad that I am on the Rock; I could not live without Him.
The eagle cannot live without its rock. If it did not have its rock, it would die. Steps are being taken today to preserve the eagles by taking them out of their natural habitat and bringing them inside to raise. However, the first thing the eagle does when it is let loose is fly as fast as it can to a rock and claim it. From that point on, that rock is always its rock.
I am glad that Christ picked me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a solid rock. Babylon's (religious confusion) rock is not solid, but I am glad that the Church (the one Jesus built) is built on a solid rock. When the eagle needs cleansing or comfort, it goes to its rock. Likewise, when I need cleansing or comfort, I go to the Rock. There are times when, as much as I love my family and friends, I cannot go to them, but I can always go to my Rock. When you cannot go to anyone else, you can always go to the Rock of Ages.
We read in Psalm 61:2, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." When my heart gets overwhelmed, I say, "Get me to the Rock!" That is the way the little eagle is: when it becomes overwhelmed, it thinks of its rock, and it soars back to it. To the eagle, that rock its salvation, and that rock is its place of separation, security, and satisfaction. Sometimes, the eagle likes to get away from all the other eagles and go to its rock.
I am glad that salvation satisfies the soul. Sometimes I am not satisfied with the things around me or with other people, and I am not always satisfied with myself; but thank God, I am always satisfied with my Rock. As much as I love my brothers and sisters in Christ, sometimes I like to get away from every one of them and get in the secret closet of prayer, with just me and my, Rock.
The eagle keeps its beak and its claws sharpened on its rock. If it did not, it could not kill its prey so quickly. Church, we need to stay sharp on the Rock. A lot of people today are sharp when it comes to television. They can name every actress that plays on the soap operas. They put a 'video tape in and record one show while they watch another one; then as soon as that show goes off, they get out that 'video tape and watch the one they missed. They can tell you about all the marriages, divorces, fornication, and all the other ungodliness that takes place on television; but if you would ask them where the Book of Philippians Is, in the Bible, they would say, "Is that in the Old or the New Testament?" People need to get sharp on the Rock.
When it comes to sports, there are people who can name nearly every player that has ever played, every one who is going to play, who is going to win, who did not win, and everything else. They are sharp on sports, but they are not sharp on the Word of God. If you are going to be sharp on everything else in life, you ought to be sharp on the Word.
The eagle is a meat eater from the day it is born until the day it dies; furthermore, it likes fresh meat. The little eagle is hatched with its mouth open just as wide as it can get it, and it is screaming and hollering for something to eat. That is just like the child of God. A child of God loves and hungers after the meat of God's Word. Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled!' (Matthew 5:6).
Have you ever seen a dead person eat? No, they cannot eat. The reason, many times, a pastor cannot feed people is that they are dead spiritually. It is hard to feed somebody who is not hungry. God will not make you eat; but if you will not eat, you will die.
Every true Christian is like the eagle: he is born with his mouth wide open. Jesus said in John 6:53, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." The Jews could not understand that, and they wondered how they could eat of His flesh. Jesus perceived their thoughts and said, "The flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (verse 63). When we eat the Word of God and drink of the Spirit of God, we are eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
An eagle is different from a buzzard. A buzzard will nibble and chew on any old thing, but the eagle wants fresh meat. If you are truly a child of God, you want something fresh too. You want the pure, unadulterated Word of God, that which is without guile or falsehood. Anything short of that will not satisfy you; you will turn your nose and go the other way.
You do not have to know much about birds to tell whether a bird is an eagle or just another bird. All you have to do is watch what they eat. The reason some people cannot be fed is that they spend their time feeding on the filthiness and ungodliness of this world. They are already full but not with the Word of God. Newborn babes still desire the sincere milk of the Word.
The Unity of the Eagles
The eagles have unity; they do not bite and scratch among themselves. If you will study about the Philippine eagle, the Australian eagle, the American bald eagle, and the great Golden eagle, you will find that they do not fight among themselves. In too many cases, do you know what we have today? Bottle babies, blabber bees, and busy bodies. The eagles love one another, help one another, and share with one another. If one of them goes out and kills a rabbit and it has more meat than it needs, it will call for some others to come and help eat it.
In I Corinthians 1:10 we read, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
I am glad that, as saints of God, we all can speak the same thing, because we have the same Father, and we all are part of the same church. I want to be an eagle, spiritually speaking. I do not want to be caged up in Babylon (false religion) with a bunch of unclean, hateful birds and foul spirits. I love the Church (the one Jesus built)
Thank you Mr. Boyer for allowing me to share this wonderful challenge! Part #2 coming soon!
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