Those Who Wait on the Lord Shall Renew Their Strength

Isaiah 40:25–31: “To whom then will you liken Me, or with whom will you compare Me? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and see who created these things; He brings out and numbers His army. He calls them all by name; not one will be missing, such is the greatness of His strength and the power of His dominion. Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you speak, Israel: My way is hidden from Jehovah, and my judgment has passed unnoticed by my God? Have you not known, have you not heard that the eternal God is Jehovah, who created the ends of the earth? He does not faint or grow weary, and there is no one who can fathom His understanding; He gives strength to the weary and multiplies the strength of the one who has none.”

“The boys grow weary and tired. The young men falter and fall, but”—but, but, but—“those who wait upon Jehovah will have new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not become tired. Those who wait upon Jehovah will have new strength; they will mount up with wings like the eagle, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not become tired.”

Father, in the Name of Jesus, we praise You, we bless You. You are good, and Your mercy endures forever. Lord, look at Your people here. You know that we are in need; we need You in this more than ever. We need You, Lord; we cannot do it without You. Lord, we hope that You will help us to wait upon You, because You are a faithful, faithful, powerful, majestic God. Lord, even if it takes time, sooner or later You fulfill what You promise. Help us to wait upon You, no matter how long it takes us, for the glory of Jesus Christ. And the people say: Amen.

And before you sit down, tell two or three sisters: Sister, take flight. Brother, soar, brother, soar; sister, take flight, take flight like the eagle; take flight, sister, take flight, brother; spread your wings.

Notice the Book of Isaiah. Although Isaiah was a prophet of the Old Testament and lived long before the birth of Jesus Christ, he is known as the messianic prophet because Isaiah had a revelation of this Messiah, this Promised One who was coming for His people. Isaiah saw His birth, saw His life, saw His crucifixion, His resurrection, saw His Second Coming, and that is why he presents this Messiah in such a complete, expansive way.

During his reign, the people of Israel were already divided into two groups: ten tribes formed the northern part, which would be called Israel; two tribes formed the southern part of Israel, which was called Judah. Israel—the ten tribes—was already being held captive by the Assyrians because of disobedience, because of their sin, because of their lack of faith. Brothers and sisters, God is a God of mercy, but God also punishes sin.

I do not like hearing about judgment because it scares me, but the truth is that God has to punish sin because God is holy, amen? What you sow, you are going to reap. Life is based on decisions and consequences, choices and consequences. If you make a decision and it is good, it will have good results; if it is bad, it will have bad results. It is a principle we have to accept. So the people were taken captive by the Assyrians because of their disobedience.

And the prophet had already prophesied to the southern group, to Judah, that they too, because of their disobedience, were going to be taken captive by the Babylonians. So the people were in bad shape; they were complaining, they were asking questions. But here in chapter 40, which is known as the chapter of consolation, the chapter of comfort, despite the disobedience, despite the weaknesses, God was still supporting His people.

God is a good God, my brothers and sisters. If God dealt—well, I am going to speak for myself; it looks as though all of you are glorified saints, while I am still a sinner saved by grace—if God dealt with me according to the way I sometimes behave, think, or act, I would not be here anymore; you would be smelling the flowers—well, not the flowers, the grave, you understand? But I give thanks that God has been so merciful that even when I fail Him, when I falter, when I become desperate, when I faint, when I lament, when I complain, God looks—He sort of looks at me. I know God lives in the Bronx (laughter), because I know God looks at me and says: Hey, girl, hey, listen, look, sweetheart, flower, get up and keep walking, girl. Do not stay sitting there in your lament. Stand up, shake yourself off, shake it up—well, excuse me—shake it up.

Do you know what is good about women preachers? We can do things—well, nowadays men do that too, but anyway, do you understand me? I can do things the Pastor cannot, because if the Pastor starts going, “Shake it up,” you say: Goodness, he has changed now (laughter). But anyway, anyway, I know the Lord tells me: Shake yourself off, cast it off, take away those laments, remove the sin from your life, straighten yourself up so that you can see My glory here in the land of the living, amen?

Because there are blessings, there are promises that bear my name: Lilian Gutiérrez. They are not for anyone else, only Lilian Gutiérrez, and the only person who can spoil this stew is named Lilian Gutiérrez, because neither the devil, nor a demon, nor man, nor the past, nor the present, nor what is to come can destroy the plan God has for my life. The only one who can destroy it is me.

So there are times when the Pastors—I know that you in Boston are sophisticated; I know that here in, what do you call it, New England? Here you are sophisticated, but over there in the Bronx, sister, say it with me, now you are a witness: over there in the Bronx, people make demands, ask for things, complain, and blame the Pastors for everything. That Pastor, that woman Pastor will not let me; they hold me back, they stop me.

Are we greater than God? No one is going to stop God’s plan; only you yourself are going to destroy it. And that is why the Lord asks them: Why are you complaining that I have forgotten you? Why do you now believe that I have withdrawn from you? Do you not know that I will never leave you, that I will never faint? I am not like your father. Perhaps your father left you when you were a baby; I am not like your father. Perhaps your husband left you for another woman; I am not like your husband. Perhaps your children left home; I am not like your children. Perhaps your family does not understand you; I am not like your family. Do you not know that I am above all things and in all things? Do you not know that I am the great Creator, that nothing happens without My permission, that nothing is greater than I am, that nothing goes over My head? Do you not know that I am God Elohim, that I have the power to create something good out of nothing?

Do you not know that I can take something crooked and straighten it? Do you not know that I can take an illness and heal that body? Do you not know that I can take a twisted mind and straighten it once again? Do you not know that I can bring your children out of addictions? Do you not know that I can break the chains of prison and bring your children out of jail? Do you not know that I am greater than the hosts of the Earth and can provide you with the papers you need? Do you not know that I can open doors that man cannot close and close doors that men cannot open? Do you not know that I am the God who is above everything?

And in these days more than ever, my brothers and sisters, when we are living in such difficult times, we have to see God in His fullness—and I am preaching to myself, because there are times when I faint, when I falter, and God Himself tells me: Do you not know who I am? The same God who healed my mother of stomach cancer, the same God who gave my father his mind back when he lost it—do you not know that I did that thirty-three years ago and I am still the same? Amen?

The Lord healed my mother; He restored the mind my father had lost. Thirty-three years have passed. My father died three years ago at the age of 92; my mother is still alive, almost 90, and still—look.

I told you this morning—well, I will repeat it because good things have to be repeated—but I am from the era of the fifties and sixties, with the discos, and I have always liked parties. I confess it to you: I still like a good merengue. I know the Pastor is going to scold me afterward, but that is okay; I am going back to the Bronx today (laughter). Let him scold me; I can take it, I am a big girl. But the truth is that I still do.

Do you know why? Because of the flesh. Jesus said: The flesh gives life to the flesh; the spirit gives life to the spirit. That is why we have to build up the spirit in order to kill the flesh, do you understand? That is why we have to attack. Look, some soap operas—oh my God, oh my God—there are some shows you should not watch, because when you look at certain things, wow, do you understand? Okay, let us move on to another subject (laughter).

God is good because He does good things, but the Lord healed my father and my mother. As I told you, I used to go out in the fifties and sixties. I would go out to the discos over there, to the parties, because I always liked parties, right? And over there I would walk out the door; on Friday nights, you went out at midnight because things got good after midnight, do you understand? So at midnight I was there in my jeans and headbands, walking out the door, and there was my mother standing at the door. These were the words she would say to me as a farewell: “May the Holy Spirit seize you tonight at the disco.”

That was worse than telling me, “Sinner, you are going to hell” (laughter), because look: there were times when I was over there at the disco doing the boogaloo and felt something shake me; the Holy Spirit was working on me. Because there is something called prevenient grace; it is grace before grace. God deals with us little by little until the day we come to know Him. Look, God is so precious that He does not strike us all at once, but keeps working, keeps working until the day you arrive. What a wonderful God, amen?

So she still shuffles along like this because she is 90, but she still tells me things like: May the Lord send you to India; may the Lord send you to preach in Africa. And I say: Put that finger down, put that finger down, put that finger down, because the believer who is standing firm with the Lord has authority. Jesus said: We give you the keys to the Kingdom of God; you have authority to bind and loose. And many times the devil knocks us down, life destroys us, because we do not take hold of the authority we have in Christ Jesus. And we can—look, keys are symbols of authority. Why? Because a key locks and a key opens. So when the enemy comes against us, we have the authority to lock out the lies and release the truths.

So we can say: This problem is not going to destroy me, because I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus, and you are not going to steal my children from me, because I and my household will be saved; I and my household will serve Jehovah. If God is with me, who can be against me? Jehovah is my Shepherd; I shall lack nothing. And we have that authority. Jesus said it: “You have the key.”

Brothers and sisters, I told you this morning: Do not lose your keys. Do you know that one of the first things we lose—I am speaking for myself—is: Where is the key? Where is the key? We lose our keys. Brother, do not lose the keys to the Kingdom. Keep them in your pocket 24/7. In fact, sleep with them in your pajamas; put the key in there, because we are living in difficult times.

The enemy does not sleep. On the contrary, as time passes, the Word says that his fury against the people of God will increase even more. I do not know about you, Pastor, but after thirty-three years, in these days I am praying more intensely than I did before; I am under a more intense attack than I was before; I find myself fighting harder than I fought before. But I have also discovered something, and as Paul said: When I find myself weak, that is when I have felt strongest. Why? Because God’s grace is perfected in weaknesses.

So the weaker and more overwhelmed I am, the stronger I am in Christ Jesus, because I am not depending on myself; I am depending on the Almighty Lord. The Lord tells the people: Those who wait upon Me will have new strength; they will mount up on wings like the eagle; they are going to run, they are going to walk, and they are not going to grow weary.

Let me tell you something about the eagle, which is such a wonderful creature. Notice the eagle: when the eagle spreads its wings, look, it soars. Do you know what chickens do? Chickens flap like this. Do you know that the AFLAC chicken is there, not moving? The eagle does not flap; the eagle soars. The Lord does not want us to be like chickens flapping around. The Lord says: Look, soar; stand up like a man, tighten your belt, brace your mind, get hold of your emotions, soar like an eagle, glide above the storms. When a storm appears before the eagle, the eagle soars higher in order to rise above it.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord does not want the storms to overcome us; He wants us to overcome the storms, because we have the power to act and to put under our feet everything that comes against us. Are we going to get wet? Oh, yes. Is your hair going to get wet? Oh, yes. Are you going to sweat? Oh, yes. Are your pantyhose going to tear? Yes. Is your makeup going to be ruined? The Pastor is giving me a dirty look (laughter). Is your makeup going to be ruined? Are you going to pay the price? Oh, yes. But let me tell you: it is worth it in Christ Jesus, because in the end we are going to have the victory, we are going to have the victory, and what the enemy sends to kill you, God uses to raise you up.

The problem that looks as though it is going to destroy you, the Lord is going to allow in order to show Himself as the mighty giant He is. That is why He said to the people: Are you comparing Me to someone? Are you comparing Me to anything? Do not reduce Me to the level of your family; do not lower Me to the level of your problems; do not place Me on the same level as human beings, because I am greater. I am above all things, and that is why those who wait upon Me will ultimately have the strength they need.

Look, it says: even young people grow weak and faint. Look at so many young people these days suffering from depression and committing suicide, so many horrible things. That is how the world is, brothers and sisters, but they do not have to kill themselves, because there is a resource; there is life in Christ Jesus. Jesus said, “The devil comes to lie, steal, and destroy; I came so that they may have life, and life in abundance.” The Lord came so that we may have life in abundance.

Do you know the difference between existing and living? Existing is when you get up in the morning, wash your face, brush your teeth—if you do not have any teeth, you take them out of the box where you left them the night before—brush, comb your two or three hairs, have your little cup of coffee, go to work, get on the subway, get off the subway, go into the house, eat dinner, watch the news, watch the soap opera: La malquerida, La gata, Mi corazón. Aha, I did not know you watched it (laughter). Pastor, Pastora, that is why they do not come to church during the week: because they are watching La gata, La malquerida, Mi corazón. I like Mi corazón es tuyo, you know why? Because that Jorge Celina is handsome (laughter). I am single and unattached; may the Lord forgive me. The Pastor is going to give me a beating.

Sisters, wow—anyway, okay, where was I? Oh my God, I told you that I am a sinner saved by grace. Look, I am already sweating. That is why they do not come to church, Pastor, and on Saturday nights I know you are with the jackal (laughter). But look, learn from the jackal: when something is no good, out! When something is not good for you, out! When the devil gets into your house, out! When the demons want to knock you down, out! When something appears that should not be there, out! When problems arise that you did not go looking for, out! That is what we have to do in the name of Jesus, by the blood of the Lamb. There is authority in Christ.

We do not have to die in the storms; we can soar like the eagle. Do not be like the chicken; soar like the eagle, spread your wings. In fact, the stronger the storm becomes, the higher the eagle soars. And do you know something else about the eagle? When it takes flight, it does not lower its wings until it reaches its destination. We have to persevere and persevere and persevere. We cannot give up halfway; we have to continue along this path that we began.

Jacob wrestled with the angel. We know that He was the second person of the Trinity before the incarnation; that was Jesus wrestling with Jacob. Jacob was in need; he had done something foolish and was paying the price, because that is life, but God is good, and Jacob wrestled because he wanted the Lord to bless him. He wrestled, and even God Himself told him, “Look, morning is already coming; let Me go.” But Jacob told Him, “Lord, I will not let You go until You bless me right here.”

God said, “You know something? You wrestled with men, you wrestled with God, and I am pleased to bless you, so I am going to give you the blessing you want. In fact, I am even going to change your name. You will no longer be a liar; now you will be a prince of Jehovah.” And the Lord touched his hip as a reminder that the Lord had blessed him. He left limping, but he was the most blessed lame man in the world, because sometimes it is better to limp with the blessing than to walk with nothing, do you understand? It is worth paying the price.

And look at something else about the eagle’s wings: at the very tip of the wing, it has five tiny feathers. So when there is no wind, which the eagle needs to remain strong, when it looks for a storm and cannot find one, the eagle spreads those five tiny feathers and begins moving them like this; it begins creating its own wind until it can soar again.

You have your own feathers. You do not have to wait for the Pastor or the worship team to tell you to worship God and praise Him, because you have the strength, you have the right, and you have the privilege of praising the Lord wherever you may be, amen?

On one occasion, King David found himself in an extremely serious situation, and neither the priest nor the prophet was there, but David supported himself; he strengthened himself in the Lord. He had to support himself. Pastor, there are times when, just when you need someone the most—it has happened to me—when I have needed someone the most, I get the answering machine: “We are not here right now, but if you leave your name and number...” When I have needed someone the most, I have found no one, but the Lord told Jeremiah, “Call to Me, and I will answer you.”

“When everyone is busy, I will make time for you. Learn to call out to Me; do not wait for the Pastor.” Look, as I tell everyone else, I am not depending on Medicare, Obamacare, or I-don’t-care; I am depending on the Lord Jesus Christ. My support is the Lord, my resource is the Lord, my everything is the Lord. If the Lord wants to use Medicare or whatever, fine, but if one day they take it away, I have a God who is a healer. If I ever lose something, I have a God who can provide what I need, because God is more than enough, more than enough. But those who wait upon Jehovah will renew their strength; they will not faint, they will not be defeated, they will not lose their salvation, they will not lose the blessings. They will receive what they need, no matter how long it takes. We have to persevere.

You know something? The Lord must be Caribbean, because God is never in a hurry. I know that here you walk slowly. Over there in New York, we run. You know, the train opens its doors, the door opens, and you run out. Over there we run; over there we do not walk. We are always in a hurry: rush, rush, rush. The Lord is never in a hurry. The Lord is either from the Dominican Republic or from Puerto Rico (laughter).

The psalmist wrote, “How long, Lord? How long?” And it is as though the Lord said, “Until I say so—as long as it takes.” The Lord has the proper time for everything. The day the Lord says, “Today is the day...” And the thing is that we do not know; we do not know when that is going to be. We do not know whether it will be today, tomorrow, or the day after; we do not know when. But we know that what God promises, God fulfills. What God has for you and for this church—and I have seen it with my own eyes—twenty-two years ago I would not have imagined something as majestic as this. Wow. Look at what the Lord has done; look at what the Lord has done through His heaven, of course. I know it is the Lord.

And as long as we continue waiting on the Lord, the Lord will provide. And I do not know why I feel led to tell you here, prophetically, that the Lord is going to open doors to jobs that many are waiting for, because there are many here who have needs. But wait, because the Lord is going to show you that He is able to open doors you never expected, because God is a provider God. He is still Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides what you need.

My brother-in-law lost his job—I do not know whether I told you about it last time. A brother-in-law of mine lost his job. They went through a very difficult time, but he is a man of God who prays, a young but serious man, and he waited. And everyone that day told him, “Look, sell the house. You cannot pay the mortgage anymore.” And he would say, “No, God will provide. God will provide.” That is how he stood firm. The time came when a new company opened in his town—he lives on Long Island—and they sent for him. When he went in, the man interviewed him, and the man said, “Mr. Narcisse”—because he is from Haiti, a Haitian—he said to him, “Mr. Narcisse, I like you so much that, look, two things. Number one: I am going to give you a different position from the one you came and applied for. I am going to make you the supervisor of a group of men. Number two: the salary I am going to give you is thirty thousand—thirty thousand—thirty thousand dollars more than what I offered you. And you are going to be over a group of men. In fact, some of them are here in a conference room where I am working with them. Come and meet them.”

When my brother-in-law went in as the new director and opened the door, sitting there at the table was my brother-in-law’s former supervisor, who used to mock him because he was a Christian. His former coworker who used to curse in front of him to see how he could make him fall was there. Another former coworker who had also harmed him at work was there. And the boss told him, “These are the men that you will supervise.” They all looked at my brother-in-law, and when they saw him, all their eyes remained wide open. And my brother-in-law, with the seriousness of the man of God that he is, told them, “God bless you, everybody.”

And the Lord asked the people, “To whom are you comparing Me? Am I like men? Is anything impossible for Me? Those who wait upon Me will renew their strength, and they will receive what they need if they are faithful to Me, if they are waiting upon Me, if they keep their faith fixed on Me. They will see wonderful things that no eye has seen and no ears have heard—the things I have prepared for those who love Me and those who are called according to My purpose—because God is faithful.”

My brothers and sisters, God is faithful. No matter how much time passes, God is faithful. And what you are waiting for, what you are praying for, on the day the Lord says, “It is coming,” it is coming no matter what. It is coming no matter what. Your family is coming no matter what, your children are coming no matter what, your healing is coming no matter what, the finances are coming no matter what, and you will see the mighty hand of the Lord, because the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever.

And brothers and sisters, this is by faith; we wait by faith. This is not based on what can be seen; it is because we know who God is. What is faith? Faith is the assurance of what is hoped for and the conviction of what is not seen. You know? It is assurance. In Greek, that word “assurance” is a mental persuasion. In other words, faith is not based on emotion; it is not based on what I am feeling, because if I allow myself to be led by emotions, my faith disappears all the time. Rather, faith is a decision I made: I know that God is able and faithful to do and undo.

And the word “conviction” used there in Hebrews was a word used in court. It was a legal term meaning evidence, legal support that what is being said is true. So my faith is a decision I made and still hold: that what God has said is true. And therefore, by faith, I am going to seize the blessings He has for me, and I am going to keep moving forward. I am going to soar on eagle’s wings, and I am not going to leave this path until I reach my destination. And when I feel discouraged, I take out my tiny feathers and begin praising God, because when God’s people praise Him, wonderful things happen: there is blessing, there is salvation, there is healing, and the presence of the Lord is felt. When the people praise and worship God, God appears as the mighty giant that He is.

God is looking for an army. He said, “I am looking for an army. I am counting the men and women who have their boots on and their belts tightened”—I am speaking spiritually. We have to tighten ourselves up very firmly, because the world is hard and it is going to get worse. I do not want to prophesy negative things, but this is going from bad to worse. But God is going to reveal Himself as more and more powerful, amen? Because where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. And God allows things to become like this so that you can then see who is really in control. We know that the Lord is the One in control, amen? He is the One running the affairs of this world. It is not the government, the terrorists, ISIS, ETA, or whatever you want to call it. The One running this is named Jesus Christ.

I want to be a member of the army, because the Captain’s name is Christ Jesus; His name is Christ Jesus. And He told them, “I am counting the number of the members of the army. If you are with Me, you are with Me; if you are against Me, get back.” Come, join the army of the Lord Jesus Christ, because those who wait upon Him will renew their strength.

Who is a member of the Lord’s army today? Who knows that God is powerful? Stand with me. I do not know whether I am taking too much time or not, but stand for a moment. As I told you, I do not know what you have been waiting for, but today I tell you: keep waiting, keep praising, keep believing by faith, because God is moving. And just as He is moving in Africa, in India, and in South America, I want Him to move, and I know He is moving, in Boston and in the Bronx. And we have to keep waiting until we see the promises manifested.

Paul said, “All the promises are yes and amen.” They are “yes” because they are positive, but they are “amen” because “amen” means, “So be it.” If God has said it, so be it. If God has said it, so be it. Let it be said; let it be done. What God says, God fulfills, because God is not a man nor the son of man. God is Almighty God.

Raise your hand right there where you are. Look. “Lord, here I am. You know what I have been waiting for. You know what I need. You know where I am, where I have come from, and where I am going. You know my past, present, and future. And Lord, today I want to make a vow, an agreement with You, that I will keep waiting because I know that You will give me new strength, Lord. And I will soar. I will not strike; I will soar like the eagle. I will continue along this path until the day You call me, and I know that sooner or later I am going to see the blessings.”

David said, “I would have fainted if I had not believed that I would see the goodness of God here in the land of the living.” Not only in glory, but here in the land of the living, I know that I am going to see His will. I am going to see the blessings, not because I deserve them, but because God is faithful. God is faithful. Brother, God is faithful. Keep waiting, because God is moving.

Those of you who are looking for those jobs, keep going, because God is going to open those doors for you. Keep praying, keep sending out résumés, keep doing everything that needs to be done, and then watch the hand of God move, because God is faithful. Amen?

Reach up. Jesus said: Seize the blessings; seize them. When the days are bad or violent, seize the blessings. This is the day to seize them—take them by force in the Name of Jesus Christ—because the Lord is good, the Lord is good. Brother, the Lord is good. Do not lose the key; use your authority in Christ, for the Lord is good. Amen? I love you, and my desire for you between now and the next time is that you keep moving forward. Do not take off your boots; sleep with the key in the pocket of your pajamas. Look: do not let go of it for even a second, because we are in a war, but we are in an army that will have the victory, because the captain’s name is Christ Jesus.