The Church God Loves … A Church with a Vision

There was little boy on the corner with his flop-eared pup. A sign saying, “Dog For Sale.” A salesman passed the corner each day, and after a week he began to pity the boy. The salesman knew the boy didn't See It Big. He stopped and said, "Son, do you really want to sell this dog?" The boy replied, "I certainly do." … "Well you're never going to sell him until you learn to See It Big. What I mean is, take this dog home, clean him up, put a bow on him, raise your price, make people think they're getting something big, and you'll sell him." That noon the salesman came by and there was the boy with a puppy that was groomed, perfumed, and beribboned alongside a big sign:    TREEMENNDOUS Puppy For Sale--$5,000. The salesman gulped and realized he had forgotten to tell the boy about Keeping It Simple. That evening he stopped by to tell the boy the other half of the formula, only to discover that the boy was gone, the puppy was gone and the sign lay there with "SOLD" written across it in big letters. The salesman couldn't believe it. This kid couldn't have sold the dog for $5,000. His curiosity got the best of him and he rang the boy's doorbell. The boy came to the door and the salesman blurted, "Son you didn't really sell that dog for $5,000 now, did you?" The boy replied, "Yes, sir, I did and I want to thank you for all your help." The salesman said, "How in the world did you do it?" The boy replied, "Oh, it was easy. I just took two $2,500 cats in exchange!"

A blind man's world is bounded by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man's world by the limits of his knowledge; a great man's world by the limits of his vision.

 

Gen 15:1-6

Prov 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish … (KJV)

Where there is no vision the people will perish.

Without a vision we are like a rock that has been skipped on the top of some lake somewhere and we and we have no way of guiding ourselves. We are at the lake’s mercy as to where we end up, as to how far we go, as to when we turn or stop. We have no control over our own lives.

Helen Keller was asked once “What would be worse than being born blind?” to which she replied “Having sight without a vision.” What a profound statement by a girl who was born into this world Deaf, Dumb and blind. Could not help how she came into this world but she sure could help how she left this world.

Let me tell you today we can’t help how we came into this world but WE CAN HELP HOW WE LEAVE IT.

Without a vision the people perish.

Vision means – sight, dream, revelation or enlightenment.

 

The question we must answer today is do we as a church have a vision and if so what is that vision?

(Cast a vision of a light in the distance… we move towards the light… as we get closer we see a building with people gathered around it. We see people entering in … We see hope … we see changed lives we see Joy!)

Let me share with you this morning - what a vision is.

I. FIRST OF ALL … VISION IS THE     

   ABILITY TO SEE!

a. How is your vision?

b. The sight I am talking about is beyond the natural.

Heb 11:24-27 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

c. What we are talking about here is that Moses had a spiritual vision.

d. He had never brought anyone else out of captivity.

e. He had no clue what course was laid before him.

f.   He just knew that God was showing him a vision of something that was to come to pass in the future.

g. As he stared into the burning bush he was revealed the future and the past.

h.Helen Keller was asked once “What would be worse than being born blind?” to which she replied “Having sight without a vision.”

i.   Humanly speaking, Moses blew it when he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. But Moses’ vision enabled him to see into another world.

j.   Mark 5:36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

k.What was Jesus saying? He was saying don’t look with the physical but look with the spiritual.

l.   To see the unseen you have to:

a. Ignore what people say

b. Disregard what the world says (disregard = turn a blind eye to)

c. DO Not only try listen just for the audible God speaks many ways

d. Don’t be controlled by the logical, believe there is more to life than meets the eye.

e. We are guilty of limiting God.

m.      How we limit God?

a. Well we have to save this money in case someone dies.

b. We need to watch what we do here just in case we need it later.

c. It is absolutely frivolous to save today for tomorrow. Why?  …. We don’t have a promise of tomorrow.

d. The word tells us that we walk by faith not by sight. OUR VISION MUST BE SPIRIT BORN SPIRIT FED AND SPIRIT LED TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING.

n.How does someone get a vision?

a. Take a good look at God!
I saw a sign one day …It said a good eye is one that looks to God.

b. Once we understand how awesome God is, we will not hesitate to believe God for great things.

Bruce Lee had a fighting style unlike any other because he developed it himself. The main part of his fighting style was to aim 6 inches beyond his target. WHAT A CONCEPT FOR CHRISITANS. Are we aiming at our target? No most of the time we have to aim just about 6 inches this side of our target. What if we could adopt this concept of aiming beyond? What could we accomplish?

 

A VISION IS FIRST OF ALL THE ABILITY TO SEE!

Are you seeing clearly? Do you look at the circumstance and not beyond?

II. A VISION INCLUDES A FAITH TO    

     BELIEVE

Rom 4:18-25  Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."   19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead — since he was about a hundred years old — and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23 The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness — for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

a. God help us to have enough faith in God to believe.

Mark 9:17-27 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." 19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." 23 "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." 24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, "He's dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

b. We forget that God will and does help us do everything and that includes helps our faith become stronger, how? Through His word.

Phil 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

c.  There are a lot of factors that influence our service for God which we have no control over -- your background, your age, your giftedness, but there is one important factor that we do have control over. How much we choose to believe God.

A 5th grade S.S. class was asked to go home and count the stars in the sky as part of their next S.S. lesson. They came back with various numbers. Some said 100, some said 1000, some said a million. Finally the teacher asked a little boy who had said nothing, "How many stars did you count?" He replied, "3". The teacher asked how did you only see 3? He said, "I guess we just have a small backyard."

d. That’s our problem when it comes to believing -- we have a small backyard.

e. Our faith needs to be strengthened and that is through His word

f.   You don’t need much faith. Faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.

g. A VISION INCLUDES A FAITH TO BELIEVE

III.     A VISION INCLUDES A COURAGE TO DO

a. In other words faith includes action.

b. Courage is going forward in spite of fear.

c. Was David afraid? Yes, but there was a cause.

d. Our problem is that too often we want to live in our comfort zone.

e. Look at what God asks most of our Bible Heroes to do.

f.   He took it out of mans hands

Mat 18:19 (KJV) Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

g. We so often want to keep a hold onto the things we can physically change or alter.

h.We want to never reach beyond that limit of our own scope.

i.   We have got to reach out and let God have his beautiful handy work involved or we will fail every time.

j.   Look at what God asks most of our Bible Heroes to do.

k.God ask them to attempt the impossible.

l.   What if these Biblical heroes did not want to move beyond their comfort zones?

                                    

   i.    Noah would have said - Sorry God I don’t do boats

   ii.    Moses he would have said - I don’t like people

    iii.    David – I don’t do giants or kingdoms God I am just a lowly shepherd

    iv.    Mary – I don’t do babies, the son of God?

m.              The biggest Goliath in most of our lives is our self.

n.We wake up and look in the mirror everyday and see the same person we saw yesterday.

o. We don’t look beyond the reflection and see God’s handy work.

p.Why don’t we have more faith, courage, vision?

q. God help us to be courageous in the task before us.

r.  A VISION INCLUDES A COURAGE TO DO

Vision is the Ability to see what others can’t. –

Faith to believe what others will not. –

Courage to do what others say can’t be done.

Columbus’ dairy at times seems to be very repetitive. Page after page simply says, "This day we sailed on!" …What a great motto for a Christian.

· Do you have a vision for your life?

· For your children?

· For your church?

· For the lost?
That light on the hill we talked about can be your Church…

After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision : "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars — if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

New Things for the New Year!

As the holidays draw to a close every year, most people begin to contemplate, “What’s my New Year’s resolution going to be this year?” While you inevitably grow and make changes all throughout the year, there’s something refreshing and definitive about resolving to make changes at the beginning of a brand-new year. Many people even have a standing New Year’s resolution that they commit to anew every January, only to lose momentum somewhere along the way. Diminished resolve and motivation are common for everyone.

Top Ten Resolutions …

Go back to school… Get a better job…  Get in Shape…  Make a Difference…  Go Somewhere…  Quit Smoking… Reduce debt / save money…  Get Organized…  Find someone special… Focus on Important Relationships.

I.          New Treasures

a. Matt 13:52  He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." 

b. My Bible – God’s Word written to me!

c. A Bible that's falling apart probably belongs to someone who isn't.

d. A man who loves his wife will love her letters and her photographs because they speak to him of her. So if we love the Lord Jesus, we shall love the Bible because it speaks to us of him.

God's Book is packed full of overwhelming riches; they are unsearchable-the more we have the more there is to have. Oswald Chambers

I study my Bible as I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest might fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. Martin Luther

II.       New Birth

a. 1 Peter 1:3-6 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

b. Nicodemus

c.  John 3:3-7 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'

d.The world laughs at the phrase “Born Again” … the world does not understand the things of the Spirit!

The Bible is a universe of revelation facts which have no meaning for us until we are born from above; when we are born again we see in it what we never saw before. We are lifted into the realm where Jesus lives and we begin to see what he sees.

III.    New Creation

a. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

b. Walk into a dark room and flip on the light switch.

If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all he can do is to tantalize us, to erect a standard we cannot attain to; but when we are born again of the Spirit of God, we know that he did not come only to teach us, he came to make us what he teaches we should be.

IV.    New Person

a. Eph 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

b. Col 3:8-10 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

The craze on daytime television has become to have a celebrity make over. They bring out a member of the audience. Dressed in their everyday casual attire. The producers take the individual backstage and give them a new hairdo, They give them a manicure and a pedicure. They take them shopping and buy them new clothes. Then they do the big reveal… ta-dah! A new person. New only on the outside. What lies beneath the skin the true person is still the same .. unchanged. When Christ does a makeover, He starts on the inside. He changes the heart. Even dressed in the same cloths you can tell by the face that it is a new creation in Christ!

V.        New Teachings

a. Mark 1:21-27  They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!" 25 "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!"  26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching — and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him."

As a starving man in front of a banquet feast, we partake of Christ as though we will never get enough. Having been satisfied we go out to find others also starving and bring them in to enjoy the feast.

The more I experience my life in Christ … the more I want to experience!

VI.    New Command

a. John 13:34-35  "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."  

b. The Old commandments demanded obedience out of a motivation of fear. The New Commandments enlist obedience out of a love relationship with God.

c.  Do you love your children? … enough to die for them?

d. Do you love your parents? … enough to die for them?

e. Do you love your spouse? .. enough to die for them?

f.   Do you love Christ? ….

VII. New Life

a. Rom 6:3-4  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

b. A person may go to heaven without health, without riches, without honors, without learning, without friends; but he can never go there without Christ.

In new birth God does three impossible things: the first is to make a man's past as though it had never been; the second, to make a man all over again; and the third, to make a man as certain of God as God is of himself.

VIII.      New Covenant

a. Luke 22:20  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

b. What debt would you owe someone who saves your life?

Someone asked Luther: "Do you feel that you have been forgiven?" He answered: "No, but I'm as sure as there's a God in heaven. For feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving; My warrant is the Word of God, naught else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel condemned for want of some sweet token, There is One greater than my heart whose Word cannot be broken. I'll trust in God's unchanging Word till soul and body sever; For though all things shall pass away, his Word shall stand forever!" --  Martin Luther

IX.    Everything New

a. Rev 21:2-5  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new !"

Have you ever bought a new car? … I mean showroom new. You sit in it and enjoy the new car smell. Did you know that smell comes in a spray can? New can be an illusion in cars but I know what new true will be.

b. New is when God makes everything new.

X.       New Song

a. Rev 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne …

b. Moved to sing.

While driving to a meeting the other day, I felt as lifeless as the white sky and frozen roadway stretching before me. Where was joy? I wondered. When would I sing again? Right away, God gave me fresh perspective. Looking up, I noticed telephone wires suspended horizontally across the highway like a musical staff. Birds at various levels punctuated the lines like little black notes. As I sped by, insulated by my car's closed window, I couldn't hear them, but I knew they were singing. Reassured, I remembered the psalmist's words, "Sing to the Lord a new song" (Psalm 96:1), and I knew God could give me a song, too.

A man said … My three-year-old son, Grant, told me he learned a new song in children's church about goats on the mountain when Jesus was born. I hadn't heard that one before, so I asked him to sing it. He began, "Goats tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Goats tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born."