Purpose:

To realize that we live our lives from a different viewpoint than the world does 

Key verse:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18

In your own words describe what this verse means to you.

My father taught me a lot about vision.  He taught me to look to the future because there is nothing you can do to change the past.  He also taught me that life was what I used it for, service to myself or service to God.   Whether you know it or not our nation was built around that same vision.  Our founding father’s wanted to create a nation that was built around and centered on the love of God and the grace they felt that God gave them in the creation of these United States. 

Centering their vision on the big picture, that God was in control of all circumstances, the founding Father’s felt that they could insure the prosperity and well being of the United States for future generations.   They looked to nation in the future that was One Nation, Under God

Somewhere along the line that vision has been lost, with the leaders of this land now feeling they are in control of our destiny and not God.  As Christians our vision should be that of the founding father’s, a vision that is not centered on the here and now but on the future.   With this vision there must be a realization that we are in this for the long haul and that giving our life is not a quick fix but a new way of life that must be lived day by day, week by week, and year by year, until we are called home.

As Christians we need to concentrate on taking the message to the lost and dying world we live in, which has no vision beyond what they see around them.  Death for them is not the beginning but the end and to die means to lose everything you took a lifetime to gain.  That is why people with no vision fear death they do not want to loose what they have.  They do not realize that to loose what you have now for the cost of Christ is to gain eternal peace and joy with God.  I can only imagine the emptiness of those who wake up each day with no vision.

As Christians it is up to us to see the vision that God has for us, in order that we do not loose our enthusiasm and drop out of the race before we reach the finish line.  God has laid out His dreams and desires for us in our hearts.  This desire is a divine gift that we must share with others in order to feel the joy set before us.  Another problem with vision is that we don’t look.  It is like driving you car down a foggy road, you can’t see any further than over the hood of the car.  The car has to keep driving forward in order to see through the fog and reach you destination.  The road up head is unknown and unseen because of the fog; it is only your desire to reach the destination that keeps you going.   This is also the Christian life, we do not know what is up ahead until we get there, it is our desire to reach the end of the journey that should keep us moving forward.

Read Acts 26:19 and in your own words write down what you believe to be your heavenly vision.

Realize the Importance for Casting a Godly Vision For Everyone I Meet

As Christians we sometimes fail to understand that God has a vision for everyone.  We feel that our view of who is eligible for the Kingdom of Heaven is the right vision for those we come in contact with.  We will not admit it but we openly judge a person by our own criteria on their worthiness whether or not they should hear the Gospel.  But God sees things differently then we do.

What is God’s vision, Read 2 Peter 3:9 and then in your own words write out God’s vision for humanity.

If God has set His vision for humanity on the task at hand what should be our response?

It is time to cast off the vision we have for the world around us and start to see things in a whole new light, God’s light.   I live near a small city that is primarily run down houses and low-income families.  A lot of people would look at that city and say what a waste of time to concentrate your effort in helping those people.   It seems there has developed a vision of the city as a bunch of ungrateful, dangerous people.   I will admit there are times that it can be a little fearful going into some of the worst parts of the city, but my faith in Christ help me to view the people in a whole new way.

Why do you think Jesus was willing to go where no Pharisee or Religious Leader had gone before?

The answer is a simple one and one in which we must place all of our trust.

Read the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32

The parable of the prodigal son expresses God’s unconditional love for us all.  Even when we step away from the Father, He is still there waiting with open arms for our return.  This parable also shows us the purpose for always casting a Godly vision on everyone we come in contact with, because if God is willing to accept the sinner as he or she is, then we must see that person each person we meet with an eternal vision.

This means seeing the people we come in contact with as lost children of God who need to learn of the Father’s love and of Jesus’ sacrifice.   If we view everyone we meet with God’s vision in mind we will truly see the world for what it is, a world of foster children who are in need of help in returning to their true heavenly Father.  Have a vision for the end and what is to come will also mean that you will need to live you life believing that God will reveal to you the vision that He want you to follow.

The Vision God Want Me Follow

Do you remember in High School taking all those tests in order to reveal what path you were best suited to prepare for in your life.  These are the tests designed to let you know if you are good at academics or at working with your hands.  The counselor would glean what you are best at all from filling out a series of questions and filling in the little bubbles with your number 2 pencil.   

As Christians we sometimes have the same problem, we do not know what God wants us to do with our lives so we pick up this book or that questionnaire all geared at showing us what God’s will is for our lives.   We live in a world that needs to know now what is going on, we do not like to wait for anything.  Think about where we would be without the microwave oven and the drive thru window at your favorite fast food restaurant.  I think a lot of our problems today stem from our inability to slow down and take it easy.

When it comes to God’s will for our lives sometimes we have to step back and take it easy until God reveals what it best for us and what area it is best for us to focus our vision on.  Some people spend most of their live waiting for their place in god’s work to be revealed.   In my church I have seen people who were retired from one job suddenly enlightened by God o what is to be to course for the remaining years of my life.  Myself I an in my forties and have finally discovered that God wants me to teach and to teach others about Him and His love.

The point is that eventually the vision God has for your life will come, but until them we need to understand that God’s vision is eternal not ethereal as ours is. That is the vision we are to follow until God reveals what He wants us to do with our lives.

Read these Bible verses and you will discover what God has to say about His vision

Habakkuk 2:2-3

Hebrews 12:2

Proverbs 3:21-22

Proverbs 17:24

2 Corinthians 10:13

Hebrews 4:1

Next pray to God to reveal His vision for you and your life and for the wisdom to carry out that vision.

Trust God to Give You Enthusiasm and A Sense

Of Purpose For Your Life

Once you feel that you have God’s vision for life there comes the next step in your growth and development, realization that you are in this for the long haul.  Your life is no longer going to be the same as it once was.  Once you accept Christ for He is, the Savior of the World things can never be as they once were.  Even if you tried to return to you old life there would be this nagging discontentment in your heart that draws you back towards Christ.   I have long believed that once saved always knowing. 

With the realization that your life must now move forward may come a little disquiet and fear that you were not built for the long haul at anything.  Surely down the road there is going to come a time when I will fall flat on my face and cease to do what I need to do for the Lord.  It is a difficult task to realize that God has called you to have a vision that is centered on introducing each and every person you come in contact with to Christ so that they may also enter into a life saving personal relationship with Him.  It is an awesome responsibility that God has called us to do. 

If we are to take up the vision of a life of service as a witness for God and a disciple for other believers we must also understand that our lives are always in the Lord’s hands and He has not left us alone. 

Look at Hebrews 10 22:25 and write down the comforting thoughts you see there.

Jesus left us not as an isolated island buffeted by the storms of life but as a body of believers who are to support and strengthen each other.  The vision He has for us He also will give you other workers

God will make all things new each day and will help us to realize each day that we have a true sense of purpose for our labors all we need to do is let Him show us.  All we need to do is live a life of patience and earnestness the Lord will take care of the rest. If we take ours eyes off of Jesus we may face what the world call the burnout factor and look at the task at hand as an impossibility instead of viewing our goal one person at a time.  Without vision it would be easy for us to pull back into the safety of our shells and hide like a turtle.  Without vision the impossible will be impossible.  With vision the Lord will show us possibilities and then give us the means to carry them out.

There is always a fear that as our Christian journey grows longer that there is going to be a waning of the joy and enthusiasm for the Christian life.  I do not think this will happen if you keep on moving forward and set your eyes and heart on what Paul call the “joy set before us”. 

Have you lost the enthusiasm for your Christian walk?

If you answered yes think about why your enthusiasm has waned and then write them down.

Next you will need to look at the list you have written and rededicate yourself to the Lord and ask Him to open you eyes to new ways for Him to use you in His service.

We all go through periods where it seems what we do is pointless.  When you witness to people whom all lack a response to your message them after awhile it will tend to wear on you heart.  The main thing to do is realize what you are doing is not for yourself but for the Lord, this means opening your eyes to the truth of the Gospel and the vision God has for your life, not the vision you have for your life.  This will help you to understand those times when God’s vision gets sidetracked by your vision.

When God’s Vision Gets Blurred

It happens to all of us when we get older, our vision starts to get worse and usually you end up getting a pair of glasses in order to see better.  That is unless you get that new corrective laser surgery to correct your vision.  Both glasses and laser surgery still have the same goal in mind, correcting your vision problem.   Well with Christians that sometimes happens to us.  As we grow and mature in our walk with the Lord, our vision for our lives blurs sometimes God’s vision for our lives. 

Read these Bible verses and think about them in relation to what you are doing in you life right now and then write a response to the message of the verses as to whether you can feel the Lord doing in your life what is expressed in the verses.

2 Corinthians 2:12

John 16:13

Colossians 3:16

It is at those times when the vision the Lord, has set for us, has become blurred that we need to stop what we are doing and do six things,

1.)    Pray about the direction our lives have taken and wait for God to show us what to do next.

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18

2.)    Read God word The Bible fervently, and with purpose, not as a casual Book but as a Book that restores.

Read Deuteronomy. 30:14

3.)    Rearrange your life and put God first again

Read: Matthew 22:27-28

4.)    Surround yourself with Christian brother or sisters who can help you thru prayer and love get your life back on track

Read: Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:23-25

5.)    Learn from the examples of other people of faith who have gone thru the same thing as you

      Read: 1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17; Hebrews 13:7

6.)    Get involved with a ministry or ministries which will allow you to expand your spiritual vision and allow you to feel God’s leading by opening and cliosing foors for you.

      Read: Psalm 43

These 6 steps and accompanying verses are here to show you that as men and women of faith we sometimes mess up the vision that God has laid out before us by adopting our own vision which blurs the truth.  If we look to the Lord He will give us a clear vsion for our lives which will lead us and give us great freedom and joy until the blessed appearing which we shall see one way or the other.  Either by His return or by God’s calling us home.   As a Christian we should think of ourselves as an apprentice always learning our calling from our Savior Jesus Christ.  It is His vision that we shall always  see, His true and perfect vision.