In the first part of Proverbs 29:18, we find a familiar portion of Scripture. Most Christians are familiar with the quote from the KJV: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The translation in the NIV gives us insight as to why people with no vision perish: “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint.”
In other words, where there is no vision, no revelation, no direction from God, people will “do their own thing” and “go their own way,” which always leads to disaster, as we are told in Proverbs 16:25 (CEV): “Sometimes what seems right is really a road to death.”
God’s desire is to lead us to life, not death. That is why He is not silent, but is actively seeking to make clear to us His will and direction for our lives. God wants to give to us a revelation of His will, so that we might live life to the full!
The Bible tells us that God has a plan for the life of each of His children. Generally speaking, of course, God’s will for each of us is that we be witnesses for Him, that we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus, that we serve Him gladly, that we worship Him daily, that we benefit from fellowship with other believers, and that we experience to the fullest the joy of our salvation.
But beyond that, I believe that God has a specific plan for each of our lives as individuals.
“For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” – Ephesians 2:10 (Amplified)
“. . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” – Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
Each of us has a “race marked out for us,” and “good works to do that God has prepared us to perform” during the course of our life while here on earth. That’s why I must daily seek the Lord and His guidance for my life.
Additionally, however, I need to understand that God not only has a plan for my individual life, but He often calls me to see that plan fulfilled alongside other believers. That is what the church is all about.
You see, the pastor isn’t the only one who is called to a church. Every person who is a member of our church should be a member because at some point in time, they felt that this local body of believers was where God was calling them to be a part of His work.
Since this is so, the question we must then seek an answer to is “why has God led us to come together at this point in time in history as a local body of believers?” The answer to that question is what the Bible is referring to when it speaks of a “vision” or a “revelation” from God.
What we are to be and do as a congregation is something that comes, not from the pastor, the deacons, or any other human being. It is something that comes only from God.
“Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” – Psalm 37:4-5 (NKJV)
God has a plan for WHAT our lives are to look like, HOW that is to happen, and WHEN these things should take place. How do we “get in on” what God has envisioned for each of us? How do we “get in on” what God has in mind for us as a church?
Two principles taught here:
A. What I delight in will determine my desires – v. 4
B. What I depend on will determine my destiny – v. 5
God wants His children to understand who they are in Christ. He wants us to live our lives with a sense of identity. That’s why He calls us to delight in Him and our unique relationship with Him through faith in Christ. He wants us to know WHO we are and WHOSE we are! As we grow in this understanding, we can than live our lives with a sense of destiny. God has not called us to twiddle our thumbs, but to be part of His great redemptive work in this world! His desire is to plant within our hearts desires, dreams, and visions concerning what our participation in His redemptive work is to look like. God desires that we live our lives with a realization of the high calling that is ours in Christ!
“A vision is the dominant factor that governs your life. It determines all the choices you are making. It’s what’s left after all the layers are peeled away like an onion. Clinging like glue to the inside of your rib cage, it’s what your mind naturally gravitates toward when it is not legitimately concentrating on something else. It’s what determines your friendships and your relationships that you are cultivating. It’s what your prayers are about, what you dream about and are giving money toward.” – Phil Grant
As it is with the individual believer, so it is with a congregation of believers. God has a plan for our church; and as a congregation, we need to seek to catch hold of God’s vision for our church.
Does our church have a sense of vision? Do we have a God-given dream? De we believe God is directing us? Leading us? Do we believe that God has preordained steps for us to walk in and good works for us to do that we are seeking to perform?
Whether or not our church has a vision from God concerning His direction for us is important in two ways:
1. It is important as far as people are concerned.
God is in the people business. We should not be surprised therefore, that whether or not we have a sense of God’s direction for our lives will have a direct impact on people’s lives.
Our world is filled with people who are hurting. Many who have been hurt in church, others who have simply been hurt by this world. There are people all around us whose marriages are in jeopardy, people whose families are falling apart, people who are confused; people who have found that the things of this world do not satisfy.
They need to see lives lived before them which are radically different – the kind of difference that can be seen in the lives of God’s people who are living their life “on mission” for Him.
As someone once said, “When you are a Christian, the whole world is from Missouri.” God wants us to live lives that show what kind of difference can be made when one knows Christ and goes with Christ; and we can be that kind of people as we seek the Lord; gain a sense of His vision for us and walk in His direction for us as a church.
When Steven Jobs, chairman of Apple computers, sought to recruit John Sculley away from Pepsico, he did so, not with the promise of more money or more “perks,” but with this challenge, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want to change the world?”
God issues a similar challenge to us. He invites us to seek His face, hear His voice and do what He tells us to do, for the sake of our community and our world. As a result of our church being a fellowship with a God given vision, we can be used of Him to literally make a difference in the lives of people!
2. It is important as far as eternity is concerned.
The word translated “perish” literally means to “run wild.” It makes me think about the story in Luke 8 of how Jesus brought deliverance to a man named Legion, so named because of the number of demons who were tormenting him. You may recall that when Jesus cast the demons out of the man, He sent them into a nearby herd of pigs that began to “run wild,” eventually running over a steep embankment to their demise.
This is a picture of folks without hope in Christ. They are “running wild,” tormented by Satan, involved in a frenzied search for help, for deliverance, for peace, for hope, and finding none. All the while, they are headed for a steep embankment, at the bottom of which lies eternal destruction. God wants to keep as many as possible from experiencing this terrible fate, and He calls upon His church to be used of Him in this work.
God calls us, as His people, to join Him in the work of inviting men, women, boys and girls to receive new life through faith in Christ. God calls us to join Him in the effort to see to it that Hell is as empty as possible and that Heaven is as full as possible.
“He is . . . not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. – 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
A church with a vision is one where the people have sought God for guidance as to how they are to go about reaching their generation for Christ.
“The sons of Issachar . . . had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do. – 1 Chronicles 12:32 (NKJV)
“David . . . served God’s purpose in his own generation.” – Acts 13:36 (NIV)
Like the sons of Issachar and David, we need to discover God’s vision for our congregation, so that we might do God’s timeless work in a timely manner.
A church without a vision will inevitably find itself practicing religion instead of Christianity. You understand the difference between religion and Christianity? The message of religion is that man, through his efforts, must reach up to God; but the message of Christianity is that God, through His efforts has reached down to man. A church with no vision, does not understand how it is to partner with God in his redemptive work in this world, consequently, it will find itself “going through the motions” Sunday after Sunday, with a “they know where the church is if they want to come” attitude. But the church who has a vision concerning how God wants them to partner with Him in His work will have a “let’s go” attitude; and they will certainly not be “going through the motions” Sunday after Sunday.
Which best describes our church? Are we practicing Christianity or religion? Whether or not we have a sense of God-given vision for what we are to be doing to fulfill the Great Commission will determine what kind of church we will be.
