Vision is Necessary to Honor God

Introduction

The entire book of Proverbs exists to give practical wisdom for living a godly life

Much of the book is contrasting wisdom and foolishness

A handful of authors are recorded as penning what we know as the book of Proverbs

But most of them are attributed to King Solomon, the son of King David

And the tone of the book is set early on in vs.7

Proverbs 1:7 “7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

There is a number of things to take note of in this verse

First, without fearing the Lord, you can have no knowledge of spiritual things

To fear the Lord is to recognize his character and respond in reverence, trust, worship, obedience, and in service to Him

If there is to be any spiritual understanding, which just in case you were wondering, anything worth knowing finds is basis in spiritual matters

So knowledge of spiritual things is vital to the lives of mankind

But we can have no knowledge without a fear of the Lord

And please know that just knowing a few things about God or His Word is not having a fear of the Lord

When a person fears the Lord, then they can begin to gain knowledge and understanding of spiritual things

But just as quick as Solomon introduces us to the beginning of knowledge he contrasts the one who fears the Lord with the fool

The one who despises wisdom and instruction that only comes from God; all true wisdom is from God

The book of Proverbs is considered wisdom literature, and there honestly is not a better description of what is found within it’s pages than wisdom

As the reader works through the pages of the Proverbs when they come near to the end of the book, they are introduced again to some proverbs of King Solomon in chapter 25

Proverbs 25-29 contains more proverbs of Solomon and in Proverbs 29 we find a Proverb that is pretty familiar to people who have been around church for very long at all

Proverbs 29:18 ESV

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

That doesn’t sound that well known, how about hearing this way

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish

This is the rendering of our same verse from the King James translation

The ESV renders the intended meaning much better, the word vision does not mean a plan, instead it means a revelation, such as a prophet would receive

And so the wisdom that Solomon is dropping is that is the people do not have revelation then they are going to cast off restraint, or run wild

It is interesting to note that Solomon contrasts those who run wild with those who keep the Law

And this is an easy thing for us to understand today in that there are only two options when it comes to the revelation of God, you either obey it and are blessed as God Word says, or you have disregard for the Word and your life will be chaos

Now, I am not telling you this morning that I am a prophet who has received a vision and I have a Word for you

No, rather I am telling you that in these last days, God has spoken not through prophets as of old, but through His Son who was the perfect imprint of the Father’s nature

The Son is how the Father speaks to his people today

John 1:1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

God’s method of prophetic vision for his church, is his Word

So if there is going to be order and blessing in our churches today, then they must function less like the people of God in the book of Judges, where everyone did what was right in their own eyes

And more like faithful servants who fear the Lord, desire his blessing, and serve him wholeheartedly

All of this brings us to our work last weekend with the Institute of Biblical Leadership (IBL)

Part of what they have done is helped Dale Bible Church better understand what vision provided by God looks like and then how to develop a vision for Dale Bible Church

In order for a Vision statement of a local church to be in step with what God would desire for the church there are a few elements that must be present

A vision must include the great commandment

Matthew 22:34-40 “34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

The great commission

Matthew 28:19-20 “19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

and it must glorify God

In order to glorify God then we must fear God, remember to fear God is to have reverence for him, to worship him, to obey him, to trust him, and serve him as a recognition of his character

When you put these together what you get is a clear and concise declaration of who we desire to become

A vision is not a reflection of where we are today, but a picture of how we desire to meet the desires of God in the future as we move forward

And so I want to share a few principles from this Proverb to help keep DBC in line with God’s desires as we carry out the vision and values that the extended ministry team established

1.God’s Word Must Remain the Guiding Priority in All Things

Explanation

Explain point #1:

Anytime that a follower of Christ deviates from God’s Word, the consequences are extreme

God is abundantly clear that His Word is necessary for mankind to live a life that brings Him glory

It isn’t just the Proverbs that teach us that wisdom is from God and necessary and that we find it in His Word

Paul tells us in Romans that people claiming to be wise, became fools

Peter draws a strong distinction between what honors God in our lives and what does not honor that was present in our former lives when he exhorts believers not to be conformed to the passions of former ignorance

The only two things that can guide a body of believers in their quest to honor God are God’s Word and man’s opinion

As we have noted, if we live in a situation similar to that of Judges where we just do what we think is right, then the result will be chaos and judgment

Therefore, the church, including Dale Bible Church must be humble enough to submit to the Word of God even if it is different that what we desire or have experienced in our past

All of God’s Word is given for the benefit of God’s people

Whether that is to help us know Him, to know His desires, to grow in godliness, to be obedient, all of God’s Word is for the purpose of going before us to light our path and guide our steps

The Bible is central to the life of the Christian and the Church

Illustration

Illustrate your point:

In the game of football, there is no game without the ball. Players can put on the gear, wear the helmets, and walk in the cleats, but there is no game without the pigskin. Nothing really matters much in football if you don’t have the ball.

When you think about it, that little piece of pigskin controls a lot. A touchdown is only a touchdown measured by where the ball is. A first down is only a first down measured by where the ball is. You’re onside or offside in relationship to the ball. Whether it’s a catch or an incomplete pass depends on control of the ball. Everything has to do with the ball. Three points or a lack of three points has to do with where the ball went. Isn’t it amazing?

You can have all the other stuff right, but if there is no football, you just wasted your Saturday afternoon.

Application

Apply this point to your audience:

This is true of God’s Word in relationship to our lives

It must be central to who we are and to how we function if we are going to do things God’s Way

Otherwise we can go through all the motions to no avail to God’s Glory

2.People left to Themselves Will Always Experience Chaos

Explanation

Explain Point #2:

Again, we see the writers of the Proverbs making known that there are only two ways to live life, in wisdom or in foolishness

As we have noted already, a good rendering of casting off restraint is that of running wild

Nothing good comes from running wild

When our lives have no form of restraint, in the context of our verse, Solomon is saying that when our lives are not ordered by God’s Word man is running wild according to what is right according to himself

But man living according to what he deems as right is dangerous, listen to the words of Proverbs 14:12.

Proverbs 14:12 “12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

This ought to grab our attention as we think about living our lives with or without vision or a plan from God and His Word

When we just function as we think is correct or right, the end will be disaster

Differing values, ideas, and opinions will result in chaos

And what is further interesting is that the casting off restraint or running wild as we have seen it is actually rendered another way as well that does fit the context

And it reads like this....Where there is no prophetic vision the people are discouraged

I don’t know anyone who wants to experience discouragement and chaos

But God’s Word is clear that if we don’t adhere to God’s Word for the establishment of vision, not only will our lives be chaos and discouraging but we can’t honor God

Not in our personal lives and not as an organization

Illustration

Illustrate your point:

There is no better example of this I would submit than the book of Judges

There was the constant cycle of the people just doing what was right in their own eyes and they were constantly living in chaos and discouragement

The great indictment of the people is that they did what was right in their own eyes

Application

Apply this point to your audience:

The church must strive to function more like those who follow God in obedience than those who do what is right in their own eyes

3.God Blesses those who Keep His Word

Explanation

Explain Point #3

The contrast of living in chaos or without restraint is living according to God’s Word

Order and purpose come from living out God’s Word in obedience

And this is exactly what Solomon tells us here

And Jesus reinforces this idea as well as James in the NT

Jesus said blessed is the man who hears these words of mine and does them

James likens the one who hears God’s Word and doesn’t obey it to the man who looks in the mirror sees issue with his life and walks away forgetting or pretending that the disorder isn’t there

When God’s people live according to God’s Word (the prophetic vision) establishing how they will walk with God, He will bless that

Illustration

Illustrate your point:

Application:

Apply your point:

Conclusion