Retreat Talk 2019

You guys that are currently playing, what is it you love about the game?

For you guys that are no longer playing, what is it that you miss?

Point out any differences, or relevant similarities.

, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Live in me and I in you is what Jesus is saying, can anything be more intimate than that?? Not live with me, or near me, but in me. Later in that chapter Jesus says, “no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you”. So what is it that Jesus has made known to us? In the very next verse it says that He, Jesus, appointed us to go and bear fruit, this is our purpose, to be fruit bearers, kingdom spreaders.

My talk is on Vision, Purpose and Direction.

Quote from the book Tribe, On Homecoming and Belonging, by Sebastian Junger, “Humans don’t mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it; what they mind is not feeling necessary. Modern society has perfected the art of making people not feel necessary.“ (Or insignificant)

Quote number 2, “The self-determination theory, which holds that human beings need three basic things in order to be content: they need to feel competent at what they do; they need to feel authentic in their lives; and they need to feel connected to others. These values are considered “intrinsic” to human happiness and far outweigh “extrinsic” values such as beauty, money, and status.”

These quotes are from a non-Christian source as well; so from a Christian perspective the needs that are essential to the human soul are:

acceptance, we need to feel that we belong, that we are not some kind of outcast or reject, that we are loved,

Significance, we need to feel that we our lives matter, that we have purpose

and lastly security, we need to know and believe that the love we receive is not circumstantial, that people won’t run out on us.

If you think about this, these are very difficult to attain and maintain in the natural world, but not so in the supernatural world. These are found in Christ and experienced daily as we abide in Christ.

We have acceptance through our faith in Christ because He died for us and adopted us into the family of God. Jesus loved us and gave His life for us, so clearly we are accepted.

We have significance because we now bear the name Christian and have been given a purpose by Him to spread the kingdom.

We have security because we cannot lose our salvation when we truly have it and the Holy Spirit seals us and guarantees our inheritance in heaven. So the deepest soul level needs we have are met by Christ and are ours in Christ.

I mentioned “Purpose” that comes to us by Christ and is what truly makes us significant in this world, and I feel a lot of us are missing this, true purpose. So let me first talk about Vision, and then Purpose, and I’ll finish with Direction.

So lets start with Vision.

1. Vision defined— the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.

Synonyms: imagination, creativity, inventiveness, innovation, inspiration, intuition, perception, insight, foresight

Synonyms: imagination, creativity, inventiveness, innovation, inspiration, intuition,

perception, insight, foresight

This vision, though, is supposed to align with who God has made us to be.

This vision, though, is supposed to align with who God has made us to be.

Theme Verse—, “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” (NIV)

Here is in the New Living Translation: “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.” (NLT)

I like a combination of the two verses; it would read something like this, “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.”

· Where there is a lack of understanding of the divine guidance within God’s revelation, there will be a lack of purpose.

· These verses are not about having a prophetic vision from the Lord and the Lord blessing it, but rather, where the Word of God is absent, people are clueless about who they are and why they are here, what they are supposed to do with their lives, therefore, they run wild because they have no seen or understood purpose.

· But you see we have been given vision and it’s Jesus who has given it to us, we just haven’t been paying attention to it.

· The “law” or referred to as “wisdom’s instruction” in the NLT, is not talking about the 10 commandments, but rather the Word of God, the divine revelation.

· That is the purpose of the Bible, to tell us where we came from, why we are here, and what happens after we die, the big 3 questions that should plague every soul until it finds the answer and it’s rest in Jesus.

· We may no longer struggle with the first one, where we came from, or the last one, what happens when we die, but we sure do struggle with the middle one, why we are here.

· Because we fail to see and understand the vision given to us by Jesus we fail to see our true purpose and therefore we have wrong direction, or for some of us, no direction at all in our lives, we are just wandering aimlessly and helpless in this world.

,

“The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul.

The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living.

Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever.

The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair.

They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.

They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.

They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.”

Ask ourselves some questions

1. Do we know the LORDS instructions? Is it no wonder our soul isn’t revived?

2. Do we know the LORDS decrees? Is it no wonder we are still simple?

3. Do we know the LORDS commandments? Is it no wonder we have no joy?

4. Do we know the LORDS commands? Is it no wonder we lack insight?

These are a warning to us; in them is a great reward for those who obey them.

So let’s be real, for most of us, for the longest time our vision revolved around us being a baseball player, that’s what gave us purpose and direction.

But this was never God’s intended purpose for us, only a means by which we could fulfill our true purpose.

Here me when I say that, our purpose in this life was never to be a baseball player, only a means by which we could fulfill our true intended purpose.

By understanding this we will have vision, purpose and direction for our lives that transcends our being a ball player.

So, do you know who you are? Let’s look at someone who did know who He was.

This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Spoken over Jesus at His baptism, but also, I believe, in part, what Jesus was referring to when He resisted the devil in the wilderness, Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the Father’s mouth. Jesus heard those beautiful words immediately before being led into the wilderness, He knew who He was and who loved Him.

I also believe this is in part what Jesus is referring to in the Lords prayer, give us this day our daily bread, this daily bread is the sweet words from the Father that we are His beloved son and in whom He is well pleased. This will help us confess, forgive, resist temptation and beg for deliverance. Anyway…

Do you have the right vision of who you are? , “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

· This all happens “in Christ”, not just claiming or professing, but in Christ, abiding in Him

· A new creation has a new vision and understands his created purpose

· We have been given a ministry, one of reconciling people to God

· This message is precious and has been entrusted to us

· We are ambassadors for Christ, an ambassador represents and resembles the One that sent him

When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and the second is like it; You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Know God and make Him known, love God and love others.

This is the vision we need for our life, it comes from the Word of God and it will give us our purpose from God.

2. Purpose defined—Noun, the reason for which something is done or created, or for which something exists. Verb, to have as one's intention or objective.

For the longest time I believed my purpose in life was to be a ballplayer. Then once I left the game, even though I felt as if I was prepared and ready to leave the game, I struggled. In fact, after my normal 1 month of doing nothing, the first day I’d be going to workout, I thought “sweet, I don’t have to do this anymore.” Day 2 and 3 the same, day 4 & 5 some confusion on well what do I do? By Day 7 I was on the couch in a mini depression that lasted about 2 weeks. I had no idea what was going on, why was I depressed, what was missing in my life. It wasn’t only about being confused on what to do next; it had a lot to do with what I wasn’t doing anymore. I missed it. Here’s what I’ve recently realized.

A. What I had—Tribe—A clan, race or people. We all know that as a baseball player we are part of a unique community, a small group of people on the planet that can do what we do, but it’s more than that. We are part of something unique, something foreign to most people. We go to war together, experience highs and lows as a group, and as an individual. We speak the same language, we have the same desire, the same goals, and we push each other, pick each other up, encourage and challenge each other. We are in this together.

B. What I lost—Tribe, so for some of us, when we walked away from the game or when the game was taken from us, we lost something significant, we lost our tribe. We no longer were fighting for the prize, no longer training for the challenges to come, no longer experiencing the highs and lows, successes and failures, that feeling of being part of something bigger than ourselves, and yet in which you play a significant role. We lost our vision, we lost our purpose, and we lost our direction. For those that are still playing, this will be true for you someday.

C. Where are we looking for it—What has become the new makeshift-tribe for you? Is it hunting trips, golf outings, coaching, etc.? We were made for tribe, built for tribe, and there will be an inescapable longing until we have it. The problem is we are looking for our tribe in all the wrong places, we always have, and we are therefore left unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and still longing. We are lost and directionless.

Our tribe for a season is or was a baseball team, but that was never the tribe we were made for. We have been adopted into the family of God; we have a new tribe. We were made for more than “wars” on a baseball field, but rather wars being fought in the spiritual realms, the war waged between the kingdom of God and His tribe, and the kingdom of this world.

When we understand this we will now have a new direction.

3. Direction defined—A course along which someone or something moves.

The course that must be taken in order to reach a destination.

The reality is, because of my vision for “who I was”, because of my purpose to become who my vision for my existence was, my direction was mapped out for me.

A. Where we’ve been—we can’t help the fact that we played the game of baseball and experienced a tribe there. But that is either over with now or will be over one day, and then what? Do we lay on the couch, depressed and alone? Do we just go hunting or fishing or golfing for the sake of something to do? Or do we realize we were made for more than that?

Let me finish with this challenge

B. Where we are—So where are you, it’s decision time. What will you do? Will you stay lost, alone, directionless, purposeless, and visionless, or will you embrace what God has said about us and adopt the mission that God has put before us? Will you have the courage to step out and step up and become all that God has created us to be, to step out into this new tribe and go to war with your brothers and sisters in Christ?

C. Where we’re going—we don’t know exactly where we are going, where God may send us, we may not have to go very far, we only know with whom we will be going. We only know the battle we will be fighting and with whom we will be fighting, but this battle is for more than the souls of lost people, its for your own soul as well, for your own vision, your own purpose, your own direction in this life, a life that can be lived with passion, and danger, and successes and failures, but a life that finally has eternal meaning.

D. The Great Commission—All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I’ve commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Close—Let’s get around our tables again and talk about where we are with our vision, purpose and direction. Let’s get vulnerable with each other and be real, where are you at?