Vision Gives Healthy Hope Series

The Power of vision series, Vision keeps us healthy

Eric A. Snyder, Minister Farwell Church of Christ

December 2, 2002

About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.

In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.

A missionary society wrote to David Livingstone and asked, "Have you found a good road to where you are? If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you." Livingstone wrote back, "If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all."

Mark 9:1-9 And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." He did not know what to say, they were so frightened. Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Prayer

I. Disciples wanted to stay on the mountain

It¡¦s easy to identify with these Guys here because they wanted to stay on the mountain longer. That¡¦s natural whenever we are in a good place we tend to resist something newer because we fear losing what we have. But Jesus wants us to see the whole picture.

I have these pictures on my wall at home they are called Photomosaics, each picture is composed of little, very small pictures of a variety of different objects, and when you stand back you can see the whole picture. Vision is a lot like that. There are a number of small pictures but Jesus has a larger picture in mind.

Peter says let¡¦s build some places to worship. We could stay here forever. Which might be tempting when we encounter something incredible.

However, it tells us a more complete picture of what vision does. We know that vision brings clarity, but it only brings clarity when it is fully understood and then embraced.

Peter¡¦s statement here is premature because he has not seen the whole picture. He has only seen part of the picture. It is at this point that he begins to form his own idea of the future.

1. Vision brings change when it is fully understood, because we seek to align our vision with the vision that God has set for us.

That¡¦s why you were so inspired in your experiencing God study, Because you were seeking the direction that God is going and are desiring to join Him there. We need to grasp picture and understand that we cannot stay on the mountain forever.

Change does not mean that we change the message of truth. The old story still is a bedrock for faith here. However out methods must change.

In the past 50 years we have seen an incredible difference in churches, families and society. People have moved away from denominational loyalty and toward churches that are driven with mission and multiple staff.

We have moved away from a society where people put front porches on their homes and sit outside and talk to the neighbors. To a society where people build back decks and build privacy fences.