What is the Vision

Introduction

Good morning and welcome back!

And Happy May!

This morning we are going to be continuing with a subject that we very briefly broached last week as part of our sermon.

And that topic was vision and having a vision.

If you remember one of the verses we read was Proverbs 29:18, that tells us . . .

Proverbs 29:18 KJV 1900

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

And it is this idea of a vision from God and lack of vision that we are going to expand on this morning.

And we will be doing so from the backdrop of Habakkuk, specifically Habakkuk chapter 2.

Now, little is known about the prophet Habakkuk and probably fewer sermons have been preached from this tiny prophecy than most others.

The book contains (3) chapters with a total of (56) verses so there is not a lot written in these pages.

However, what is there is powerful and straightforward.

The name "Habakkuk" means "Embracer" or "Wrestler", which is fitting based on the subject of the book.

The very first verse of the book is "The Burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see."

So, Habakkuk was shown the burden of the people during this time and his job was to relay the message of this burden to the people, which he did faithfully, wrestling with God interceding for his people.

And the actual prophecy is broken into two parts, the first containing two times with Habakkuk asking God why these things were happening, and two times the Lord responding.

The second part contained in the third chapter contains Habakkuk's final deference, or "giving it over" to God with a prayer, a praise, and his ultimate trust in God.

So that gives us an introduction into the Book, but what was the purpose of the book?

Well, the purpose of the book was to relay the message to Judah of the coming invasion and captivity to be carried out by the Chaldeans (Babylonians).

Habakkuk is shown the terrible times they would face, but he is also shown how eventually the Babylonians themselves would be judged and ultimately destroyed.

And, Habakkuk's burning question, which is the same as our is, how long?

How long Lord will you tarry?

How long will you wait to exact judgment on these people?

That is like many of us today.

We go to God with all our troubles asking Him to move and to move now.

Instead we should be going to Him with praise and thanksgiving, and having faith that He will care for all our needs.

And ultimately asking God to show us the vision of HIS plans for us.

So, with that said, let’s get into things.

Again, Habakkuk 2, starting in verse 1 . . .

Scripture Focus

Habakkuk 2:1–4 NIV84

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. “See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous will live by his faith—

Stand Your Watch

So, starting out in chapter 2, Habakkuk makes this declaration to God . . .

Habakkuk 2:1 NIV84

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

So, what he is saying is that He is not going to abandon his post.

He is going to stand guard, stand in the gap for the people.

He is going to wait and watch for God’s answer, whatever it may be and whenever it may come.

And for us as Christians, when we talk about standing, we always have to go back to the full armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10–18 NIV84

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

We have to pay attention to what Paul is saying here about the armor.

First he tells them to be "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."

What does it mean to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might?

It means that we are to stand up strong and straight, not backing down or backing up and trusting in His Power and His might to deliver and preserve us.

In Exodus, Moses tells us . . .

Exodus 14:13–14 NIV84

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The same holds true for us, when we can't go forward, we simply stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

He will destroy all the "Egyptians" in our lives.

He will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

But notice what else these verses say?

In Ephesians Paul mentions the word "stand" or "withstand" four different times, meaning that it is important that we do not lay down but stand strong and firm.

It has everything to do with standing.

Not only standing but also watching.

What are we watching for?

In Habakkuk's day, he was watching for the deliverance of God to the people from Babylon.

In our day, we are also watching for the deliverance of the Lord.

Watching and waiting for His return.

Matthew 24:42–44 NIV84

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

And . . .

Matthew 25:11–13 NIV84

“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

We are anxiously waiting and watching for His return.

So, what is he going to find us doing when He returns?

Will we be asleep like the foolish virgins?

Or will we be prayed up, packed up and ready to go?

If we are not vigilant and watch we may just miss it.

And it is not just watching for His return.

We are also warned to watch out for the enemy, because . . .

John 10:10 NIV84

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Are we watching, preparing, waiting?

Listening for the Lord's answer.

Writing a Vision

Habakkuk was and God was about to give him an answer . . .

Habakkuk 2:2–3 NIV84

Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

And this is where receiving the Lord’s vision comes into play.

Remember I said last week, the KJV uses the word “vision” and the NIV uses “revelation” but they mean the same thing.

So, the Lord sent His answer to Habakkuk, but sent it in the form of a vision.

He tells Habakkuk to Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables.

So in essence He is asking Habakkuk, what is the vision I gave you?

What is the revelation?

What is your dream?

And of course Habakkuk's dream/vision was for the people to be delivered from the hand of the Babylonians.

That was what his vision was.

Then in verse three God confirms the vision to Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 2:3 NIV84

For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

So God tells him, the Vision is true, but the vision will only be revealed in its appointed time.

However in its appointed time, the vision will speak the truth and will come to pass.

However, it will tarry.

It will not come to pass immediately.

It has to come to pass in its proper time.

However, be patient Habakkuk and wait on it because it will surely come and will be fulfilled.

Which leads me to us.

What is our vision?

What is our vision for our selves?

Our family?

Our church?

Our nation?

Is our vision according to what God's will is for us, or what we want?

Remember, the Bible tells us that we are to have a vision and that vision is important.

We have already read it once in the KJV but . . .

Proverbs 29:18 NIV84

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

And while God will give us the vision, the Bible also tells us that we are to wait on the Lord as well.

Psalm 27:14 NIV84

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

And . . .

Psalm 37:34 NIV84

Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

But many times we don't want to wait.

We don't want to be patient and wait on the Lord to move.

We want an instant healing

We want those lost loved ones instantly saved.

We want this and that, but we want it right now.

We don't want to wait.

We lack patience.

We begin to want to take matters in our own hands and take care of it ourselves.

And that's why we find ourselves in a mess.

We all have a vision but that vision is according to what we want and when God doesn't honor that vision, instead of prayerfully waiting on Him to move, we take matters into our own hands.

WE NEED TO HAVE A VISION BUT HAVE FAITH ENOUGH IN GOD TO ALLOW HIM TO FULFILL THE VISION.

We need to . . .

Matthew 6:33–34 NIV84

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We need to stop trying to do it all ourselves and stop trying to figure out God.

We need to simply seek His kingdom and His righteousness and everything else will fall into place.

Altar/Challenge

So, this morning, do you have a vision?

Is it God’s vision for you, or your own?

Are you allowing God to control the destiny of that vision?

Or, are you refusing to get out of the driver’s seat?

Each and every one of us are at a different place in our walk.

What is God telling you this morning?

Let’s pray . . .