Pursuing The Vision

When you think of people having “visions”, what do you think of?

Perhaps you think of someone who might be considered dangerous, in need of medication, seeing things that aren’t there, like Russell Crowe’s character in “A Beautiful Mind”.

Vision Reminder

Have you been learning to write down your “visions”?

I’m finding it helps to put these things down on paper. It helps to see it in black and white in front of my face.

We’ve been following the example of Nehemiah. Nehemiah had a position within the Persian government. He also found himself with a burden to have the walls of his hometown rebuilt. It seemed like an impossible thing, but Nehemiah was the man to bring it about.

As the people continued to build the walls, there were some everyday problems that arose. People had left their jobs to build the wall. Farmers had left their fields to build the wall. To make things worse, there was a famine in the land and the people were simply falling too far behind in debt. In those days, when you fell into debt, the only resort you had was to sell yourself or your family into slavery. Yet God had forbidden Israel to make slaves of each other. God had also forbidden His people to charge interest from each other when they made loans to each other.

The 1st week was Gaining Visioin - The What, How

2nd week was Refining Vsiion - Plans can change but God’s Vision will never change

Check Before Building

Share The Vision

Handle Critism with Prayer

Keep Revising

Encourgement

This Week is

Sermon Title is: Pursuing Vision

3 Lessons in Pursuing Your Vision

(Neh 5:1-3 ) And there was a great out cry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren. 2 For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”3 There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”

The word “mortgage” comes from a French phrase meaning “death pledge”. Sounds about right, huh?

The people were under a great financial burden. Some of them had even sold their families into slavery to pay off their credit cards.

(Neh 5:6-10) 6 And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, “Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.” So I called a great assembly against them. 8 And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. 9 Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? 10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury!

“Usury” means to loan money at interest.

Nehemiah was also lending people money and grain, but he apparently wasn’t charging interest like these other fellows.

As a result of Nehemiah’s rebuke, the leaders actually returned the lands they had foreclosed on and set the slaves free.

Lesson #1 Dying to Self

The building of the walls was proceeding nicely, but the financial problems that began to creep up threatened to shut down everything.

Nehemiah had this vision of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. At first everyone was completely on board and heading in the same direction.

But as time went on, some of the folks began to develop other priorities that would eventually end up derailing the plans to rebuild the walls if it wasn’t dealt with.

Nehemiah had to stop the building of the wall to address the problem.

Sometimes it’s important to stop and get things back on track.

For these other leaders, their own personal gain had become more important to them than the vision of building the wall.

Though we might like to think that most church splits happen because of serious theological heresy, sometimes it’s really just pure goofy selfishness that causes us to get off track. I get to thinking that “my” wants are more important than yours.

Illustration: Share The Story of two churches Arguing over alleluia or HAllelua which was so bad that it became violent and a church split.

Jesus told a story about a farmer who was planting his crop. The seeds were sown on different kinds of soil, and produced different kinds of results.

(Mk 4:18-19 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

The goal is to produce a crop. That’s the vision. Yet when our lives get caught up in selfish things, even subtle ones, we get off track and the vision is derailed.

(Neh 5:14-19 14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s provisions. 15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God. 16 Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us. 18 Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spite of this I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people.19 Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Nehemiah was a man of influence. He had been able to influence the leaders and the wealthy people of the city to give back the interest they had charged and to set the slaves free. How did he do it?

He had already set the example.

Lesson #2 The Influence of Example

He didn’t just talk about not taking advantage of people, he lived it.

There may be times in the pursuing of a vision where you may be faced with the temptation to take a shortcut.

The temptation may be to sacrifice a little of your character for the sake of getting things done.

God gave Abraham a vision of having children. God gave him a son, Isaac. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. Abraham was more concerned about pleasing God than he was about clinging to the vision of a son.

God gave David a vision to be king one day. He found himself in a cave with the opportunity to kill Saul and acquire his goal.

But he knew it was wrong. He didn’t sacrifice his character for the vision.

Paul reminded the Thesssalonians in 1 Thes Ch.2 over and over about the example he had set for them.

Paul would write to Timothy:

(1 Tim 4:12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Jesus set some examples for us to follow.When He washed the disciples’ feet, He said,

(John 13:14-15 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

When He died on a cross for us, He set the ultimate example.

(1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

(1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Pleasing God ought to be of more importance to us than even the vision we think we’ve gotten from Him.

When you have a vision from God, you’re most likely going to need other people alongside to help.

People don’t willingly follow a person they’re unwilling to be influenced by.

The kind of influence that lasts is that of moral authority – the life that matches what that person’s actions show.

You and I will be constantly tested on this. We need to keep the vision in mind when we’re tempted.

Don’t undermine your moral authority.

Be an example.

This isn’t something you get overnight. It’s something that has to be built up over time, something you don’t dare let go. You’ll need it one day.

(Neh 6:1-4 Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), 2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”4 But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.

Lesson #3 Say “no” to distractions

Nehemiah was getting close to meeting his objective. The walls are up, but the gates need to be repaired. The enemies are getting worries that they won’t be able to stop the progress, so they start a series of last ditch efforts to get things derailed.

There are some legitimate reasons for slowing down or even stopping the work on a vision.

Back in chapter five, Nehemiah realized he needed to stop the work long enough to take care of the problem of the economy.

But this time Nehemiah sees these proposals as nothing but distractions.

They could have actually been some pretty good opportunities.

Perhaps Sanballat wanted to make a peace proposal.

Wouldn’t that be a good thing?

“Good” things can distract us from the “best” things.

If we don’t keep our vision in front of us, it’s easy to get distracted with things that will take up our time and change our course.

It’s like driving your car down the freeway and getting distracted by something on the seat next to you, taking your eyes off the road, getting off course.

What’s your vision of a healthy family?

Don’t get distracted by working so much to make the big bucks that you end up sacrificing your family vision.

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In 2008 I found myself with nothing but gained the start of this vision. I then shortly after got a letter to work for Mike Ferry my Real Estate coach.

When you’re faced with distractions, learn to say to yourself,

“I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down”

Look at your vision-list. Are they “great works”?

Are they worth sacrificing the “good” for the sake of the “best”?