Vision Part 1

Proverbs 29:18 KJV 1900

Where there is no vision, the people perish: But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Proverbs 29:18 ESV

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

Proverbs 29:18

Proverbs 29:18 NLT

When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

What is vision?

I want you to imagine you wake up in a car, no wait let’s put as many as we can in a state of anxiety, imagine you are are sitting behind the wheel of a transport truck. Do you think you can imagine that Jeff? I know it’s going to be a stretch for you. You have no idea where you are. You look out the windows and nothing looks familiar.

Ok is everyone behind the wheel. Do you see all your gages, and parking break release. Put one hand on that oversized steering wheel turn and with the other start the engine.

The truck shakes a little as the massive engine engages. Today you will be hauling hazardous materials. For fun let’s say radioactive waste. Right now it it contained in containers that block the radioactivity but if one of those were to break, you and many others could be in sever risk of radiation poisoning.

Sorry but I have to try and make even the truck drivers in the room a little nervous. So you’ve done all your pre trip stuff everything looks good so it’s time to pull away, so you reach down beside your seat and pull out a blind fold and tie it around your eyes.

Before you pull away you realize no one told you where this load is going. You wait for a second as you debate calling dispatch to confirm your route, but in the end you decide, I don’t need dispatch’s help. I am a professional driver, I will figure out where I am going eventually.

You radio once with no answer. You wait a minute before trying again. No answer, now you pick up your cell phone and dial the office. Still no answer.

So with blind fold on and truck running and no route or GPS coordinates you release the parking break on the tractor and trailer throw it into gear, you hit the accelerator and you are off.

So what is wrong with this picture? In this scenario I have completely eliminated your vision. But in what ways?

Is it just the blindfold that has removed your vision? The answer is no.

To answer the question what is vision we have to acknowledge that vision is at least a two part system.

1. You need to be able to see where you are

Of course the vision we are talking about has nothing to do with sight, but there are some similarities.

Like in order to have good sight you need to be able to see where you are and where you are going.

Likewise The type of vision that is talking about requires that we first...

Be able to identify where we are

second

Be able to know where we are going

In the example of the radioactive ride, the blindfold took away your sight but it was the not knowing where you were nor where you were going that really took away your vision

The word vision in the passage we read actually means...

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 2606 חָזוֹן

communication from God to be communicated to others, with a focus on the visual aspects of the communication

which is why the NLT translated it...

Proverbs 29:18 NLT

When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.

The type of vision we are talking about today is allowing God to give us instruction on where He wants us to go as individuals and as a church.

Vision for a church is a very important thing according to Proverbs, without it we run around wild never really accomplishing anything, but following God, His laws and guidance, we will not only accomplish big things but we will arrive where God wants us to.

As you may have guessed this morning is going to look a little different as we talk about the vision of the church.

For example before getting your license you have to pass a vision test. You have to prove that you can see far enough up the road that you can keep your vehicle on the road and see and avoid potential hazards.

But like we said earlier in order to talk about vision we must look at two different aspects of the vision. In order to follow God we must know.

First where we are and secondly where we are going. Thus this mornings message is titled Vision part 1

So what do you suppose we are going to talk about this morning?

Where we are!

3.5 years ago or so we introduced some guideposts for our church. These guideposts were designed to help keep us moving in the same direction in all we did. Every ministry was asked to consider these guideposts in their yearly planning, for these guideposts were intended to keep us focused on the core values we all share, and aid us in our mission of...

Bringing people from all walks of life together with God and with each other. We are STRONGER TOGETHER!

Who can tell me what these guide posts are?

Stronger Together

This is the main guidepost. The intent of this guidepost was to remind us we are not alone. It is also to remind us that a church divided against itself can not stand but that united we could face any obstacle the enemy might throw our way as we would face it together with God.

It also served as a reminder of the importance of belong9ing to a fellowship of believers. Too often we hear someone say, I can be saved without going to church, or going to church isn’t what saves us, and although the initial logic is sound as going to church is not the requirement for salvation the practice of isolation is a lie the enemy is using to weaken believers and to divid and conquer.

The truth is The early church was praised for meeting together and we are told we can not say we love God and hate our brothers and sisters, which is the main reason for not wanting to go to Church. Again the Truth is by meeting together we strengthen each other, support each other and protect each other from the attacks of the enemy.

What is the next guidepost?

Gather Together

The purpose of this Guidepost was to remind us again of the importance of getting together from time to time, for the soul purpose of building relationships with each other. Like any relationship in order to keep them healthy we need to invest into them, so we have Christmas parties and potlucks and we play games, and go on trips together like sleigh rides because we want to be a close knit family, and we encourage everyone to get involved in as many of these Gathering events as Possible.

Next?

Serve Together

This guidepost is intended to remind us the work of the kingdom was never intended to be put on the shoulders of one or even a few but that we are supposed to work together. Many hands make light work, this is the principle by which we at Lower Brighton want to live by. If funds need raised we do it together, if Work needs done, we do it together. If Meals need served we do it together. If the tables and chairs need put away we do it together.

Do people need visited, let’s do that together. Every aspect of Kingdom work should be done together.

Next

Grow Together

Honestly this isn’t the worst understanding of vision. it gives us a very good starting point, when it comes to understanding what I want to talk about today.

What would be the point if we were not growing. This guidepost was intended to keep us focused not on numbers but rather on continual growth as disciples. In that we have seen growth in numbers but more over I hope we have seen growth as followers of Jesus.

I say a starting point because although an important aspect of vision is being able to see the hear in know

So How have we done?