"THE NEED FOR VISION"
INTRODUCTION
- Any successful endeavor requires a vision...
- The word "vision":
- Literally means the ability to see things that are visible
- But it also used to mean the ability to see other things
- "unusual competence in discernment or perception;
intelligent foresight" (American Heritage Dictionary)
- "Vision is the art of seeing things invisible" (Jonathan
Swift)
- Such ventures as business or politics require "men of vision"
- Companies require CEOs with vision, countries require leaders
with vision
- Without the ability to visualize worthy goals and how these
can be realized, very little of importance is achieved
- In the Lord's work, we desperately need an elevated vision of what
it is all about...
- We need greater goals (what can be done) and greater objectives
(how it can be done)
- Jesus certainly had a great vision: the saving of souls! - cf.
Mt 9:36-38; Jn 4:35
- We need to have visions that are worthy of the "King of kings and
Lord of lords"
[What can help us to elevate and enlarge our vision in the Lord's work?
Let's first notice how an inadequate vision can actually stifle our
work...]
- TWO WAYS OUR VISION CAN BE INADEQUATE
- AN ILLUSTRATION OF AN INADEQUATE VISION...
- Suppose a man is driven by the "vision" of "making as much
money as possible"
- Two things may keep him from making as much money as he should
- He may be limited in his idea of what is "a lot of money"
- He may never make any specific plans other than have the
vague notion of "making as much as possible"
- His problem? His vision:
- May be too small concerning what can be done
- May be too general without any plan for what he can be
doing now to make his vision a reality
- OUR VISION OF THE LORD'S WORK MAY LIKEWISE BE INADEQUATE...
- We may have the vision of "teaching as many people the gospel
as possible"
- A noble vision on the surface, but we might by afflicted by
the same shortcomings:
- We may think too small concerning what can be done
- We may think too generally about what we should be doing
- THE PROBLEM OF A VISION THAT IS TOO GENERAL...
- No dream has ever been achieved except by someone who dared to
flesh it out in terms of the specifics necessary to make the
dream a reality
- For example, it is fine to plan:
- To go to heaven
- To serve the Lord faithfully
- To do the work of evangelism
- But how do we do such things?
- By what means do we get those results?
- What specific, measurable actions will take us where we
want to be?
- How much time, effort, and money will it take?
-- We need to see our vision of the Lord's work in concrete terms
of things we can actually do...and plan specifically how much
of them we are going to do!
- THE PROBLEM OF A VISION THAT IS TOO LITTLE...
- When we do think specifically about the Lord's work, we often
fail to set our sights high enough
- Perhaps we are hindered by our past experience
- Personal efforts made in the past may have not born
fruit
- Congregational efforts did not seem to go anywhere
- Perhaps we have been fed a steady diet of defeatism
- Told by others that people are not interested in
spiritual matters anymore
- Telling ourselves that people are not interested
- With small visions, many churches and individuals seem content
with:
- Just "keeping house for the Lord"
- Just an occasional conversion, usually involving our
children or spouses
-- With the limited vision of many churches, little is done and
little is accomplished
[I believe the Lord intends greater things for His church, especially
for those servants with a willingness to work (cf. Mt 13:31-33; 1Co
16:8-9; Re 3:8). What does a vision worthy of our Lord's work
require? Perhaps the following thoughts might be a step in the right
direction...]
- WHAT OUR VISION NEEDS
- OUR VISION NEEDS TO BE GREAT...
- E.g., to double in attendance every year
- E.g., to spread the gospel to thousands in our community each
year
- OUR VISION NEEDS SPECIFIC ACTION-STEPS...
- To double in attendance every year:
- Invite two people a week; by the end of the year you will
likely have a least one attending regularly
- Provide transportation to people who can't drive; is the
value of a soul not worth what time or effort might be
involved? - cf. Mt 16:26
-- If each person succeeded is just getting one person to come
regularly, the attendance would easily double
- To spread the gospel to thousands in our community each year:
- Give a tract to one person per week
- A congregation of 50 would share the gospel with more than
2500 people per year
-- How does that compare to the past year, where no vision was
present?
- OUR VISION NEEDS FAITH...
- Faith in the power of the gospel
- To save souls - Ro 1:16-17
- To produce souls that have been born again - 1Pe 1:22-25
- Faith in the power of the Lord
- To open doors for His prepared servants - 1Co 16:8-9;
Re 3:8
- To impower His servants wanting to do His will - Php 4:13;
Ep 3:16,20
- OUR VISION NEEDS BOLDNESS...
- A virtue displayed often by the early Christians - Ac 4:13;
9:27; 13:46; 14:3; 19:8; 28:31
- For which they prayed and solicited prayers - Ac 4:29,30;
Ep 6:19-20
- A boldness based upon our hope in Christ - 2Co 3:12
- To say what needs to be said, when it needs to be said,
despite the circumstances - 1Th 2:2
- OUR VISION NEEDS PERSISTENCE...
- Not losing heart, for we shall reap in due time - Ga 6:9
- Always abounding, knowing that our labor is not in vain - 1Co
15:58
-- Many visions are never realized because people give up too
soon!
CONCLUSION
- Not all "vision" is good...
- Some have "tunnel vision" - focusing on small and often
insignificant problems in the church
- Some have "visions of despair" - seeing only the negative, never
the positive
- But a vision that has...
- A grand scope worthy of its mission (saving souls)
- Specific steps to accomplishing its goal (teaching others)
- Faith in the Lord and in His word
- Boldness and perseverance in carrying it out
...such a vision is what the people of God need today!
Is this your vision? Or have you allowed yourself to have "tunnel
vision" or a "vision of despair"? How much better to heed the words of
Jesus:
"Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields,
for they are already white for harvest!" (Jn 4:35)
Note: The main idea and several thoughts from this lesson were taken
from a lesson by Gary Henry. The URL for his web site containing many
excellent articles and sermon outlines is:
http://www.wordpoints.com