Sowing For The Harvest: A Vision

What is possible?

Have you ever asked yourself the question what is possible?

It’s a simple question that has changed the course of history over and over again. It is the question that challenges our lived experience with a preferred future. Just because it is doesn’t mean it has to.

Elon Musk's vision wasn’t just to launch rockets into space but to fundamentally change the way space travel works by reducing costs and making space exploration more accessible. He dreamed of sending people to Mars, which seemed far-fetched to many at the time. Elon’s dream was to create excitement for human exploration. Thus he created Space X.His bold vision to revolutionize space travel, make humanity multi-planetary, and reduce the cost of space exploration offers a real-world example of having a clear vision, overcoming obstacles, and pursuing something that seemed impossible.

Dr. King asked the question with society. He saw the reality of his children growing up in a world just like the one he knew. He challenged it with possibility. What is possible? As a result society was transformed the foundation was laid to give birth to that future.

Don’t underestimate the power of a vision because that vision can change the world.

Can we relate?

Have you ever had a vision? A vision for the future you?

A sport’s championship, a degree, a career, a family, a home, a vacation, an experience?

When I was young I had a vision to attend university. I scheduled my high school classes toward that goal. I shaped my life and efforts toward something greater than where I was at the time. You see, I loved my family, loved my father but I didn’t feel I was supposed to be in the family business for my life. It was a radical statement. All of my siblings were in the business and it just made sense. I would have had a good life staying with my father. I worked hard and could do a lot at a young age but it just didn’t sit well with me. What was possible for my life?

Bible

Scripture: The Israelites were poised, ready to enter the Promised Land. After years of waiting for the hope filled future to arrive it was about to become a reality. Can you understand that? Like the arrival of a wedding day or the arrival of a child after so much time that awaited moment came to pass.

What do we know about God and his desire for our lives?

God knows us. He knew us before we were born. He ordained our days and we are precious to Him. Psalm 139:13–18 “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you.”

God wants what is best for us. Matthew 7:9–11“Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

We can trust God with our future Jeremiah 29:11 “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

What gets in the way of living into God’s preferred future?

Transjordan tribes request Moses to leave them stay where they are.

In **Numbers 32**, the Reubenites and Gadites chose to settle east of the Jordan River rather than crossing into the Promised Land with the rest of Israel. This passage offers several teaching points that can be drawn out as simple phrases. These points revolve around priorities, faith, community, and God's promises.

1. Don’t Settle for Less than God’s Best

- The Reubenites and Gadites were content with land outside of the Promised Land, settling for what was convenient rather than pursuing what God had promised.

- *Application*: Sometimes we may choose comfort or convenience over fully stepping into God’s plans for us.

Don’t Settle Outside of God’s Promises

- The land outside of the Promised Land seemed good to the Reubenites and Gadites, but it was not within the inheritance God had planned for them.

- *Application*: We should trust God’s promises, even when other options seem appealing. Staying within God’s will leads to greater blessings.

2. Comfort Can Compromise Commitment

- The tribes prioritized immediate comfort (good land for their livestock) over joining the rest of the Israelites in God's mission.

- Application: Our personal desires and comforts can sometimes get in the way of our full commitment to God’s purposes.

Don’t Choose the Easy Road at the Cost of God’s Call

- They opted for what seemed like the "easy" land without the challenges ahead in Canaan, missing out on the fullness of God's calling for them.

- Application: God’s call may involve challenges, but it leads to growth and fulfillment of His greater purpose for us.

3. Faith Moves Forward, Not Back

- Choosing to stay behind rather than enter the Promised Land showed a lack of faith in God's ability to provide what was even better beyond the Jordan.

- *Application*: True faith propels us forward, trusting God’s promises rather than clinging to what we see right now.

Your Decisions Affect More Than Just You

- Moses reminded the Reubenites and Gadites that their decision could discourage the rest of the Israelites. Personal decisions can have communal consequences.

- Application: We must consider how our choices affect not just our own lives, but also the spiritual well-being of others around us.

4. Don't Let Your Blessing Become a Burden for Others

- By staying behind, the Reubenites and Gadites risked creating division and discouraging the rest of the tribes. Moses had to remind them of their obligation to help their brothers.

- *Application*: Our personal choices should not burden or hinder others in their walk with God.

Obedience is Better than Opportunity

- The land east of the Jordan seemed like a great opportunity for livestock, but obedience to God’s original plan was more important.

- *Application*: When we face opportunities that seem good, we need to ensure that obedience to God’s will is our first priority.

5. Stay United with God’s People

- Even though the Reubenites and Gadites were given the land they desired, they had to commit to joining their fellow Israelites in battle to claim the Promised Land.

- *Application*: Unity in God’s mission is vital; we are called to walk together, even when our paths differ.

Finish the Mission Together

- The Reubenites and Gadites ultimately agreed to cross the Jordan and help fight for the land, ensuring that the mission of claiming the Promised Land was accomplished as a united nation.

- Application: We are called to finish what God starts, together with the body of believers, not leaving the mission unfinished.

These teaching points help illustrate the tension between settling for immediate gain versus stepping fully into God’s plans, and the importance of unity and obedience in God's mission. Would you like to use any of these points in a specific way for your teaching?

Why vision matters:

God is the giver of visions and he makes the way:

Proverbs 16:9 “The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.”

God is the origin of “What is possible”

Creation, Exodus, The Promised Land, The Cross, The Promised hope.

Parting of the Red Sea Ex. 14:21-22

Manna from Heaven Ex. 16

Water from the Rock at Horeb

Quail for Meat

Victory over the Amalekites

Pillar of Cloud and of Fire

Water from the Rock at Meribah

The Bronze Serpent

Clothes and shoes that never wore out.

Miraculous Provision and Guidance

The Glory of God in the Tabernacle

To encourage trust in God with a big vision using the story of the Reubenites and Gadites in **Numbers 32**, you can emphasize the contrast between settling for comfort and stepping into God's greater promises. Here's a suggested approach:

1. God’s Vision is Bigger than Our Comfort

- Key Phrase:Don’t settle for less when God is offering more.

- **Explanation:** The Reubenites and Gadites were comfortable with the land outside the Promised Land, but they missed the full inheritance God had for them. Sometimes we can be tempted to settle for what’s immediately available rather than waiting for the bigger things God has planned. Challenge the congregation to trust God for a vision that exceeds what they see now.

2. Faith Takes Us Beyond What We Can See

- Key Phrase:Faith is stepping into the unknown, knowing God has already prepared the way.

- Explanation:Encourage them that just like the Promised Land was ahead for the Israelites, even though it required trust and challenges, God's big vision for our lives often involves faith in what we cannot yet see. Encourage them not to let fear or convenience keep them from walking into God’s bigger plans.

3. God-Sized Visions Require God-Sized Trust

- Key Phrase: A vision that doesn’t require God isn’t big enough.

- Explanation: Emphasize that when God gives a vision, it often seems impossible by human standards. Encourage the congregation that if their vision seems too big or too difficult, it’s likely because God is calling them to something that requires His intervention and power. Challenge them to trust God with that vision, knowing He is able to do "immeasurably more than we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20).

4. God’s Mission is Accomplished in Unity

- Key Phrase: God’s big vision for you is part of His bigger plan for us.

- Explanation: Just as the Reubenites and Gadites had to join the rest of the Israelites in fighting for the Promised Land, we are called to trust God’s vision not just for ourselves but for the greater community of believers. Encourage the congregation to see how their personal vision is part of a larger, God-ordained mission.

“Lord help Grace Church impact its community and care for its people, to be a place that welcomes and be a testimony to what the family of God looks like. Lord, speak to me and show me what you desire from me to support this initiative. Lord, what do you want to do through me?”

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Three masons were working side by side, laying bricks on a construction site. A passerby approached and asked each one the same question:

**Passerby to the first mason:**

“What are you doing?”

**First mason:**

“I’m laying bricks.”

The passerby then asked the second mason:

“What are you doing?”

**Second mason:**

“I’m building a wall.”

Finally, the passerby approached the third mason and asked the same question:

“What are you doing?”

**Third mason:**

“I’m building a cathedral.”

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**The lesson:**

All three were doing the same physical task, but each saw their work from a different perspective. The first mason had a narrow view, focusing only on the immediate task. The second mason had a broader vision, seeing the contribution to a larger structure. But the third mason had the grandest vision of all, understanding his work as part of a larger, meaningful project with long-lasting impact.

This story is often used to encourage people to find deeper meaning in their work and to approach it with purpose and vision. It speaks to the importance of perspective and how a sense of purpose can transform ordinary tasks into something extraordinary.