Sermon for Sunday February 3rd, 2008

VISION by Bruce Ball

Proverbs 29:18-29:18


Vision is a funny thing. Some people have it; some people don’t have it; and some people just think they have it. And those who think they have it always seem to try and run the show for everyone else.

I am reminded of a story I heard about an elders meeting at the church one evening. There were three elders sitting around the table with the pastor. The pastor had received a vision from God and was explaining it to the elders, saying they should initiate that vision into the church.

When they took a vote, the tally was three elders against and one pastor for. The lead elder spoke up and said, “Well, the vote is 3-1. You are outvoted, Pastor, and it is late, so let’s close in prayer.”

The pastor, not wanting to give up that easily, prayed that the Lord would somehow show the elders that it was not his vision he fought for, but the Lord’s vision he fought for. At that moment, a lightning bolt came through the window, splitting the table in half and throwing all the elders to the floor.

After they all got up, the lead elder said, “Well, Pastor, the vote is now 3-2. You still lose.’

Why is it that we have no Godly vision? Could it be that we are not really focused on God? Helen Keller once said, "The only thing worse than being born blind is to be born with sight but with no vision.”

I think the vast majority of our society has no vision for their lives, their families, or their church. I also believe that when people make that choice to fully give themselves to Jesus Christ, they receive a Godly vision of great proportions.

So when people come to me and say they have no vision, my question is how much of themselves have they fully and faithfully committed to Jesus Christ?

Someone once described their Godly vision this way:

It is like the soft notes in a song. It is seeing the world through God’s eyes, and seeing the delight He takes in having us as children.

Anyone can see the physical, but it takes something special to see the spiritual: It takes God’s vision, given to us through our acceptance of His Son. And it is that vision that creates the only true joy we, as humans, shall ever know.

Today, I want to talk about vision; specifically –

· what it means to have a vision
· what it takes to get that vision, and finally,
· what do we do after we have that vision.

PROVERBS 29:18a (King James Version)

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish …’

I want to quickly give you an overview of my vision for CrossRoads Church. God has revealed to me that CrossRoads Church is to be a church that reaches people for Jesus Christ. Pure and simple, isn’t it – or is it?

There are many kinds of churches in this community, and each church has the ability to reach certain people who live in this community. We are all called to do the same thing, but some of us are called to do it in a different way.

Very early on, God laid it upon my heart to make this church His church. Here are a few things God gave me a vision for:

· Man shall not rule this church, for man focuses on self and will eventually try and own the church.

· Tradition will not steer this church, for tradition is what keeps people from focusing on Jesus as Lord.

· And we will do things differently than some might be used to. We are called to sing unto the Lord a new song, not a rehash of an old song.

Why would we have a vision to do these things? To answer that, look at our community. We have many kinds of churches, yet most of our community stays away from them. By being a little different in ‘how’ we might do things, we can reach a part of those people who might not be reached otherwise. Now let me ask you a question: Do you think that is a worthy vision?

The Hebrew translation for “vision” means, “divine communication.” When we talk about Godly vision, we are talking about something that would be impossible for us to come up with on our own. Let me give you an example.

Esther is one of the most prominent women in the entire Bible. God used her to save His people from the evil plans of Haman. Haman, and you remember, was a powerful man in Babylon and he wanted to kill every Jew in Babylon.

Many people recognize the name of Esther, but few recognize the name of Mordecai. Mordecai was the older cousin of Esther, but he had actually raised her because she was an orphan. These were hard times for the Jews. They were not in their homeland; they were captives of the Babylonians under King Xerxes.

Through a strange turn of events, King Xerxes had set out to look for a new Queen. And he was going to do what most men do when they search for a wife. He was going to find the most beautiful woman he could, and make her his queen. Esther was the winner, and when her cousin Mordecai found out, he told her not to tell the King that she was a Jew.

Now at the same time Esther was being considered, Mordecai, the cousin, was refusing to bow down to Haman, the powerful man who hated the Jews. The rest of the Jewish leaders were submitting to this foreign leader and Mordecai’s refusal to bow really got Haman angry. In fact, it was this anger that initiated his plan to kill all the Jews.

While this was going on, Esther was chosen as the Queen for Xerxes. At the same time, Mordecai learned about Haman’s plan. Haman went to the King and convinced him that the Jews were not to be tolerated, that they were undermining the best interests of the country. Xerxes gave Haman permission to do with them whatever he desired to do.

Mordecai didn’t give up. Mordecai had a vision. He knew God was bigger than any King! And so Mordecai came up with his own plan. Now who said the Bible held no intrigue?

Mordecai knew that the king would listen to Esther and so he went out into the streets to mourn loudly. He drew so much attention that Esther heard he was distressed. She sent one of her servants to find out what was going on and he returned to her telling her of the planned slaughter of the Jews. Esther must have had an idea of what Mordecai wanted her to do because she sent word to Mordecai. The word was as follows:

ESTHER 4:11

"All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned - the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."

Can you imagine how Esther felt? She knew she was risking her life by going to the king, but she also knew her people would all die if she never went to the king. Esther seemed to be caught between a rock and a hard place.

When Esther expressed doubt because of how long it had been since the king had called her, Mordecai sent another message to her. He reminded her that she, too, would die. And then he reminded her that God put her there for a special purpose.

ESTHER 4:14b, Mordecai said,

‘ … And who knows but that you have come to that royal position for such a time as this?’

Mordecai had vision! He trusted in God enough to act on that vision. And he doesn’t stop at telling her what would happen; he plants a vision in her heart showing her what God could do through her. And she has decided to go through with it, even though she was scared to death. She told Mordecai to gather all the Jews and have them fast for her for three days and nights. She said that after that time, she would go see the king.

What happened? The Jews fasted and Esther was obedient. Because of Mordecai’s vision and Esther’s obedience to that vision, God changed the kings heart and that allowed the Jews to be spared and Haman to be hung on the same gallows he was going to hang Mordecai on.

How does that apply to us today? God instills His vision in you. And when you are obedient to following that vision, even when you don’t really understand it, He will reward you.

Let me give Diana and me as an example. God put it in my heart that I needed to leave all I knew in Arizona and go to Oklahoma to preach. I didn’t really understand it, but I acted in obedience. Diana had even less understanding of that vision that I did; yet she also acted in obedience. Because of that obedience to God’s vision, you are sitting in CrossRoads Church today, listening to the word of God.

There is a reason why God’s people have visions that burn within them. It is because our God is a God of vision. God called Abraham the Father of many nations long before his wife ever had her first child. God saw a King in a young shepherd boy named David! God saw the mother of Messiah in a young virgin girl. What a mighty God we serve!

And the same God who saw all those things in the people of old, sees in us what no other can see; He sees how great we can be in His kingdom. But first, He wants to give you a special vision in your life; in the life of your family; and in the life of this church.

Let’s talk about …

1. WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A VISION

A vision is when God puts a desire in your heart for what He wants you to do. That is quite different from what I want me to do. Here is an example of what I am saying.

The Apostle Paul was raised to be a good Pharisee. He knew and followed the Jewish Law. He was educated and was a rising star in the hierarchy of the religion of the day. That was his vision for himself. But what happened? On a road to Damascus one day, Jesus Christ appeared to him in a blinding flash of light and told Paul what the Lord’s vision was. And from that day on, even unto his death, Paul followed the desires of God.

So having a vision from God means to have His desires for your life in your heart.

Now let’s talk about …

2. WHAT IT TAKES TO GET THAT VISION

What do you have to do in order to become convinced that God has a special calling upon your life? The answer is simple. You must seek the heart of God. It isn’t a one-time prayer you pray that God automatically answers. Oh, it could be, but usually it isn’t.

If I came to you and asked you to do me a favor by loaning me money, and then I never came back to you, would you consider my request serious? No, you would not. But if I came to you time after time, with heartfelt pleas for you to loan me money, you would know without a doubt I was serious. And if you knew I was that serious, you would start getting serious about considering that loan.

That is how it is going to God in request. We cannot be satisfied to just give him a quick prayer and be done with it. That does not show how serious we are about what we need.

We need to labor in prayer until we hear Him speak to our hearts. You will sense yourself becoming consumed with a burning passion to become more than you are, to do more than you ever have, to do it with excellence instead of mediocrity, and perhaps for the very first time, to not be distracted by your detractors.

When we pursue God in prayer; when we run after God in prayer; when we never give up – that is when God sees your seriousness and that is when He will begin getting very serious about answering your prayer. But always remember that He answer prayer in His time and in His way, to accomplish His purpose.

So to get a vision from God, we must pursue Him. But there is only one way to do that.

In 1 JOHN 2:23 tells us,

‘No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.’

So, to pursue God, we must first make sure we surrender our will over to the will of Jesus; to receive Jesus as our personal Savior. That means to really be committed TO Him, not just talk ABOUT Him.

Now, let’s talk about what we are supposed to do …

3. AFTER WE GET THE VISION

When God gives you His vision for your life, you must make the decision to pursue it with everything you have, for the rest of your life. Never give up! Never put it off! People who mean very much to you might even say it is impossible, but your only reply should be a joyous, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”

Henry Ford had a vision for a new kind of engine. People scoffed at him. Banks refused to finance him. But he pursued that vision relentlessly, and he finally saw his rewards.

David Livingston was the first white missionary to Africa. He was given a vision by God to help those who were perishing. He was obedient to the vision, even though many around him tried to discourage him. Because of his obedience, millions have received Christ who would not have without his going there.

John Kennedy had a vision of putting man on the moon, even when there was no technology to do so. Even his own cabinet members doubted his intelligence, but he pursued it and now, you know the rest of the story.

When Abraham was told that God was going to lead him into a new land, Abraham was curious about where he would be going. God said, "Go and I’ll show you.” In order for Abraham to one day see that land, he had to follow obediently and listen intently every day.

As it was with Abraham and so many others, it is with us as well. Once God gives His burning vision to us, we must use it to become a blessing to the kingdom. And then we must do something that is very hard. We must listen to God as He continues to lead us and guide us to help those who are perishing.

I am reminded about the little Christian church in Germany, during WWII. They were barely 50 yards from the train tracks, and each Sunday morning, they could hear the trains rolling by, taking the Jews to their death in the furnaces.

They could also hear the screams for help. But what did they do? They sang their hymns unto the Lord louder so they couldn’t hear them screaming for help.

How dare the American church become so arrogant that we would rather focus our thoughts on the things we enjoy within the church to the extent that we do not hear those outside the church who are spiritually perishing.

Let me ask you a question at this point. What is the vision God has given to you? What is it that God has ignited inside of you for your life, your family, or for your function in the church? Is it to help somebody in some way?

I can’t even begin to name the opportunities He is giving to us on a daily basis. Think about the desire that sits in your heart. Should you start leading other people to Jesus? Should you start a ministry for new mothers? Should you visit a prisoner once a week, or gather young people in so they can worship? What is the desire that lies dormant in your heart? Is it the vision that God has given you?

If you lack vision then I want to invite you to talk with me. If you have committed your life to Jesus Christ and you still lack vision, then you are missing out on God’s best for you. I would love to meet with you and help you pursue God’s vision for your life.

As you can tell, I believe in visions. God has given me a vision. That vision is to do my best to preach His word to you. You might not think that sounds very exciting. Well, it isn’t the sound of it that excites me, it is the destination it is taking me that thrills my soul!

Diana and I have a vision to focus on other people and their walk with Jesus. We share an urgency to bring everyone we talk to as close to Christ as they can possibly get – as quickly as we can.

And I am convinced that God has prepared all of us like Esther for such a time as this. Statistics show that 3/4 of all churches in America have either leveled off in reaching new people for Jesus or are declining in their ability to do so. But for those churches that really do pursue Him, God has been known to turn things around and let them touch more people for Jesus than they ever did before.

I want to share with you what I have been praying for in our church. My biggest vision is to reach people for Jesus. So I have been praying for about a year that God would send us someone who feels called to do just that; for someone who has the heart to see people outside the church become Christians. And I fully believe that before this year is out, we shall see that person in our church, heading up ministries to do just that.

Sometimes small churches look at themselves and say, “Oh, we can’t do this and we can’t do that because we are too small.” They might think they don’t have the resources. This causes their Godly vision to get limited by their circumstances and instead of taking giant steps in faith; they take baby steps in fear.

I’m reminded of the story of a man who had done something wonderful and the king called him in and told him he could mark off as much of the kingdom as he wanted and it would be his.

The man took his staff and traced a line in the dirt around himself. When he did, the king said, “Is that all you want? Just what’s in that circle?” The man said, “NO. I want everything OUTSIDE the circle.”

What if we drew a line around this building and said we want to claim all the territory for God that is outside that line? Jabez looked beyond where he was to where God was. He looked beyond what he could do and placed his vision upon what God can do.

So to answer the question of what do we do with the vision once we have it, I would say to simply use it! Do not sit on it and be contented to just think about it, because visions will die if not acted upon. If you have a vision and can put it into practice, do it. If you don’t know exactly how, or if you need help, please contact me and share it with me. But whatever you do – get that vision working so that it will become all God wants it to be in your life.

You might be like Esther; in a situation that you just aren’t sure what to do. Or you might know what you need to do, but are afraid to do it. You need to know that you are very precious in God’s sight. You are very special to Him because only you can do what He wants you to do. He has a plan specifically designed for you. He wants you to know that the Christian life doesn’t end at the cross; it begins there.

Will you begin that journey by taking the first step to come forward?