Are you a Visionary or a Vision Vandal?

The pastor of a church decides that God is calling the church to a new vision of what it is to be and do. So at the elders meeting, he presents the new vision with as much energy, conviction and passion as he can muster. When he had finished and sat down, the senior elder called for a vote. All 12 elders voted against the new vision, with only the pastor voting for it. "Well, pastor, it looks like you will have to think again," says the senior elder. "Would you like to close the meeting in prayer?" So the pastor stands up, raises his hand to heaven, and prays, “LOOOOORD!...will you not show these people that this is not MY vision but it is YOUR vision!" At that moment, the clouds darken, the thunder rolls, and a streak of lightning bursts through the window and strikes in two the table at which they are sitting, throwing the pastor and all the elders to the ground. After a moment's silence, as they all get up and dust themselves off, the senior elder speaks again. "Well, that's twelve votes to two then."

Numbers 13:26-33 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. [27] They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. [28] But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. [29] The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." [30] Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." [31] But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." [32] And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. [33] We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

Numbers 13:1-16: Choosing of one member of each of the twelve tribes to go and spy out the Promised Land.

Numbers 13:17-20: A commissioning of the twelve.

Numbers 13:21-25: 40 days of spying.

Numbers 13:26-33: Debriefing. A report as to what they saw. ……………………………………….

Moses: “Tell us what you saw.”

Joshua: “That land is exactly as God said it would be, flowing with milk and honey. There are obstacles, but we can do it!

One of the other ten: “But what about the walls? What about the giants? What about the elements? Forget about it!”

Caleb: “God said that the land would be ours, and I believe Him. Let us go and seize it with His blessings!”

I.            Our Perspectives

A man came to a construction site, where stonemasons were working. The man said to one, "What are you doing?" The stonemason said, "You can see, I'm chipping a stone." The man walked over to another mason and said, "What are you doing?" He answered, "I'm building a wall." The man walked over to a third mason and said, "What are you doing?"    This mason answered, "I am building a cathedral." All three were doing the same thing, but what a difference perspective makes!

a.   Joshua and Caleb = Visionaries:

                   Walls? No problem!

                   Giants? No problem!           

              Remember David and Goliath?

                   Possible? No problem! Why?

They saw a God sized task through God’s eyes. They believed that what God promised He would do, He would do! They believed that God is bigger than any obstacles that stood between them and the land He had promised.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

God doesn’t call us to failure and defeat! We wander there on our own

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

b.   The other 10 = Vision Vandals:

                   Walls? Insurmountable!

                   Giants? Too big and too strong?

                   Possible? Forget about it! Why?

They saw a God sized tasked through their own eyes. They couldn’t see themselves having the ability to accomplish what God called them to do. They saw that they were not capable of scaling the walls, bringing down the giants, and claiming the land. They were right. They couldn’t! At least, not without God.

c.   You and I?:

Are all the activities that scream for our time really essential? Are we missing the burning bush for trying to keep the lawn cut?

                How do we view the walls in our lives?

                How do we size up the giants that we battle?

                Do we believe God’s promises?

Tony Evans said, “God can do more with less who are dependant on Him than He can with more who are dependant on themselves.”

Matthew 13:15 For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'

II.         Our reactions:

John 12:36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." …

John 14:1  "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

Religious instruction, however sound, is not enough by itself. It brings light, but it cannot impart sight. The assumption that light and sight are synonymous has brought spiritual tragedy to millions. The Pharisees looked straight at the Light of the World for three years, but not one ray of light reached their inner beings. Light is not enough. The inward operation of the Holy Spirit is necessary to saving faith. The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight. -- A.W. Tozer

a.   Visionaries:

                  

                     Reported to Moses and the people with

                enthusiasm! God was right, it does flow with milk and honey!

                        

                Reported to Moses and the people the possibilities. We can do this. No sweat!

                                

                      Reported to Moses and the people a reminder of the promise of God and His faithfulness to the people.

b.  Vision Vandals:

                       Reported to Moses and the people with discouragement.

                        

                        Reported to Moses and the people the impossibilities. The walls, the people, the elements? Forget about it!

                                  

                        Reported to Moses and the people a reminder of how much better it was back in Egypt.

c.   You and I:

                       

                    Is our response to a vision or idea optimistic or pessimistic?

                  

                    Do we seek to encourage them to pursue their God given vision or do we seek to squelch their enthusiasm?

d.  Is our response filled with why the vision or idea is possible or impossible? In other words, do we see it through God’s eyes or our own?

e.   Do we prefer to stay in the comfort zone of tradition or move in the will of God?

f.    Do we enjoy going with the flow or swimming upstream?

There was a young pastor of a new Church of who were meeting under an overpass. He decided that it was time to find a building. He located one that was on the market for $250,000. When asked how a Church his size could afford to buy this, the young pastor said it wouldn’t be a problem. He was going to ask the owner to give it to them. Guess what! He got the building and even some extra money to fix it up. Why? Because he believed that God would enable him to accomplish the vision that God had given.

III.      Our rewards:

Members of one church share janitorial duties. One day while cleaning the dining hall, a woman heard some boys outside throwing snowballs too close to the building. Rapping on the window pane, she shook her head, causing the white scarf she was wearing to protect her hair from the dust to swing from side to side. Alarmed, one boy asked the other who that was. Convinced he'd seen the real thing, his friend answered, "The Holy Spirit!"

a.   Visionaries

                         

                    Joshua and Caleb would be rewarded for their faithfulness by possessing the Promised Land.

Where is our promised land?… Where do you want our church to be in the future…

b.  Vision Vandals

                         

                         The rest of the people would miss out due to their lack of faith.

c.   How about you and I?

d.  Will God reward us for our faithfulness or lack of?

Numbers 14:36-38 So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it-- [37] these men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. [38] Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.

Clarence Gates… Clarence was a diabetic. When he was 40 years old he woke up in the middle of the night coughing. He didn’t think much about it and went back to sleep. When he awoke in the morning he couldn’t see a thing. He had his wife lead him to the bathroom where he splashed cold water on his face. It didn’t help. They rushed him to the doctor. The doctor examined him and left the room. In a few minutes the doctor and the nurse returned. The nurse had a tray with a sedative because the news would be bad news. The doctor told Clarence “Clarence, You have detached retinas in both eyes. There is nothing we can do. You will be blind for the rest pf your life.” Clarence raised his face and smiled…. “Praise God …. The next face I see will be the face of Jesus!” The nurse dropped the tray of medicine and left the room crying. The doctor was speechless. Over the next week while in the hospital Clarence led his doctor, the nurse and three other nurses to accept Jesus. Clarence had a vision.