Vacillating Vision
Text: Ex. 3:7-10; Ex. 4:29-31; Prov. 29:18
Intro: When one uses the word “vision” he could be talking about any number of things. One could be talking about the faculty of sight, a perception gained by supernatural means, or simply intelligent foresight. However, the biblical concept of vision with which this message will be concerned, though involving intelligent foresight, actually goes beyond mere human intellect. That is because biblical vision has as its foundation, faith in the faithfulness of God. This vision originates in the mind of God, and with the work of God’s Spirit upon the heart of His child, not with one’s fleshly or selfish desires, however lofty they may seem.
One definition of biblical vision is, “…a divine expectancy grounded in the faithfulness of God and the knowledge of His revealed will.”1 Hebrews 11:1 puts it this way: “Now faith is the substance (ground or confidence) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In other words, vision is a confident expectancy based on faith in the revealed will of God. Vision and faith go hand-in-hand.
However, like faith, conflict often tests our vision to reveal whether it is merely a matter of the head, or a matter of the heart. Sometimes God permits the testing of our vision to move us away from operating on head knowledge alone to operating on heart knowledge; or more accurately, heart confidence and assurance—whether we simply feel good about a particular prospect, or we are truly convinced by faith.
In the passages just read, the Israelites had received the revelation that God was going to deliver them from bondage. They believed that revealed truth, and responded with worship toward God. The whole atmosphere of Exodus 4:31 is one of expectancy.
However, the story does not stop here. The Israelites did not realize that God would sorely test their vision of deliverance. When things did not work out as smoothly as they imagined, they began to have doubts about the vision. They began to feel misguided in their expectations.
I want us to look at three steps that take place in the life of the Christian concerning vision, or expectations for the future. It helps to know these things when testings come our way.
Theme: The three steps involved in spiritual vision are…
I. THE FORMING of the VISION
A. God’s Will was Revealed.
Ex. 3:7 “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jubusites.
……………………………………………………………………
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
NOTE: [1] God had originally promised Abraham that he would possess the land of Canaan (Gen. 13:4-17; Gen. 15:18). God later repeated this promise to Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 50:24). All the Israelites in Egypt were well aware of God’s promise. Their bondage in Egypt must have seemed like a gross contradiction to God’s earlier promise of an inheritance.
[2] Vision is the ability to see with the eyes of one’s heart and faith that which is not yet physically visible. It gives one purpose for life, as is evident in the following:
It started like so many evenings—Mom and Dad at home and Jimmy playing after dinner. Mom and Dad were absorbed with jobs and did not notice the time. It was a full moon, and some of the light seeped through the windows. Then Mom glanced at the clock. “Jimmy, it’s time to go to bed. Go up now and I’ll come and settle you later.” Unlike usual, Jimmy went straight upstairs to his room.
An hour or so later his mother came up to check if all was well, and to her astonishment found that her son was staring quietly out of his window at the moonlit scenery. “What are you doing, Jimmy?”
“I’m looking at the moon, Mommy.”
“Well, it’s time to go to bed now.”
As one reluctant boy settled down, he said, “Mommy, you know one day I’m going to walk on the moon.”
Who could have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash, which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 years later when James Irwin stepped on the moon’s surface, just one of the 12 representatives of the human race to have done so?2
B. God’s Will was Related.
Ex. 4:29 “And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:
30 And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.”
C. God’s People Responded Reverently.
Ex. 4:31 “And the people believed: and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.”
NOTE: [1] When God made it known to the Israelites that He intended to deliver them and bless them, they responded with worship. What an emotional time it must have been. Finally, they could see daylight at the end of a four-hundred-year-long tunnel of bondage. They had caught the vision of blessing and freedom.
[2] Perhaps some of the people remembered the word of God to Jacob, many years before, when He said, “I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again…” (Gen. 46:4a).
[3] The following is an excellent definition of vision:
Vision: the capacity to create a compelling picture of the desired state of affairs that inspires people to respond; that which is desirable, which could be, should be; that which is attainable. A godly vision is right for the times, right for the church, and right for the people. A godly vision promotes faith rather than fear. A godly vision motivates people to action. A godly vision requires risk-taking. A godly vision glorifies God, not people.3
II. THE FATALITY of the VISION
A. Pharaoh’s Response to God’s Demands.
1. He was defiant.
Ex. 5:1 “And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.”
NOTE: [1] Do not expect the devil and his crowd to be thrilled about the vision God gives His people. He will try to make it and you, look foolish. He often says, “It cannot be done,” or “It has never been done that way before.” The purpose of his attempts to discourage the saints is to keep them in bondage to the past.
[2] Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Valley Community Church in Southern California, had a vision of building a church of 20,000 without depending on transfers from other churches. After being in existence for fifteen years, with no building of their own, and having been located in 79 different locations, they were running 10,000 in attendance. It is now the fastest growing church in the world—and yes, it is Baptist.
[3] God cannot bless some churches with dynamic growth simply because they are not willing to accept change. It is sort of like the Boy Scout who showed up at a scout meeting with a black eye. The following discussion ensued:
When his scoutmaster asked him what had happened, he replied that he had tried to help a little old lady across the street. “How in the world could you get a black eye doing that?” asked the scoutmaster. Replied the scout, “She didn’t want to go.”4
2. Pharaoh’s defiance spawned Israel’s discouragement.
Ex. 5:6 “And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.”
NOTE: The devil will do his best to discourage us and destroy our vision. While Satan cannot make the Christian discouraged, he seeks to get the Christian focused on circumstances and the “what ifs,” so that they take their eyes off Christ. We must be on guard, and knowledgeable of Satan’s devices, for discouragement changes our whole outlook.
Discouragement is dissatisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future. It is ingratitude for the blessings of yesterday, indifference to the opportunities of today, and insecurity regarding strength for tomorrow. It is unawareness of the presence of beauty, unconcern for the needs of our fellowman, and unbelief in the promises of old. It is impatience with time, immaturity of thought, and impoliteness to God.5
B. The People’s Response to Their Difficulty.
1. The people responded with irritation.
Ex. 5:19 “And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.
20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
21 And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.”
2. Moses responded to the Lord with indignance.
Ex. 5:22 “And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.”
NOTE: [1] Moses told God that he did not understand any of this. The circumstances were not working out at all as he had imagined they would. Instead of getting better, things had gotten worse.
[2] Right after Moses expressed his displeasure over the circumstances, God told him to go back and reassure Israel that God would fulfill His promise, and would yet bring them out of bondage, and to the land He had promised them. However, the people were not inclined to believe God’s Word through Moses, because they remained focused on their circumstances. Nevertheless, God graciously continued to remind Israel of the vision all through their ordeal.
3. The people also responded with impatience.
Ex. 6:9 “And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and cruel bondage.”
NOTE: [1] The words “anguish of spirit” mean, “shortness (of spirit), i.e. impatience.”6 These people were frustrated and impatient with God’s methods and timetable. We tend to do the same thing when things do not work out as we imagined they would.
[1a] Perhaps you have sought God for a financial need, and were given the assurance that your need would be met, only to find things getting worse. All your expectancy and hope seems to die. However, we must be careful not to judge God’s faithfulness by visible circumstances.
[1b] Perhaps you have asked God to save a friend or relative, and felt assured that God would save them, only to see them go more deeply into sin. Too often, we wrongly assume that either God was not listening, or we must have been mistaken about what God promised. If our request is legitimate according to God’s Word, we must stand firm in our faith toward God to answer our prayer in His own time.
[2] Manley Beasley once said, “A faith which does not walk may soon become too weak to stand.”7 God sometimes allows the death of the vision, from the believer’s viewpoint, to test their faith, and to strengthen them for future trials. James put it this way: “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience (‘endurance’)” (James 1:3).
III. THE FULFILLMENT of the VISION
A. The Fulfillment Came with Great Triumph.
Ex. 12:35 “And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
36 And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.”
B. The Fulfillment Came Right on Time.
Ex. 12:40 “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.”
NOTE: [1] The 430 years mentioned here refers to the total time that Israel was in Egypt. It spans from the time that Jacob and his household moved to the land of Goshen until the day that the children of Israel marched out of Egypt, carrying with them the bones of Joseph.
[2] Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6, at first glance, seem to be in contradiction to Exodus 12:40-41. However, after a closer look, one will notice that the Exodus reference deals with the total time the Israelites spent in Egypt—430 years, while the other two references speak only of the time Israel endured affliction in Egypt—400 years. They lived peaceably with the Egyptians for 30 years. Shortly after Joseph died, a king in Egypt ascended the throne, who did not know Joseph, and who brought the Israelites into bondage.
[3] One thing is certain: “You can’t break God’s promises by leaning on them!”8
Theme: The three steps involved in spiritual vision are…
I. THE FORMING OF THE VISION
II. THE FATALITY OF THE VISION
III. THE FULFILLMENT OF THE VISION
End Notes:
1. Rev. Donnie L. Martin, personal definition of "biblical vision."
2. Bill Hybels, Who You Are When No One’s Looking, (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, n.d.), p. 35.
3. Bob Logan.
4. Acquired from http://www.wsbaptist.com/fsi
5. William Ward, Today in the Word, April 1989, p. 18.
6. James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing Company, n.d.), #7115 of the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, p. 104.
7. Manley Beasley, Laws for Liberated Living, p. 86.
8. Author unknown.
Copyright © August 1991 by Rev. Donnie L. Martin. All rights reserved.
