Listen<\/p>\n
Date written: March 18th, 2006
Scripture ref: Proverbs 29:18<\/p>\n
SUBJECT: Stewardship, Responsibility, Planning, Leadership, Church Growth<\/p>\n
TITLE: The Need for Vision<\/p>\n
PROPOSITION: We need vision because 1) Not having vision results in disaster, 2) Having a vision improves attitudes, 3) Having a vision improves industry, 4) The future literally depends upon our having vision.<\/p>\n
Objectives: Each Christian, especially the leaders, ought to recognize the need to have vision for their lives and the church.<\/p>\n
Aim: To motivate each to see the need for vision in their lives to spur the growth of the church.<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
1. Read: Proverbs 29:18<\/p>\n
2. About the Text:<\/p>\n
1) The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom.<\/p>\n
2) The writer conveys to us small chunks of knowledge that are designed to immediately enlighten.<\/p>\n
3) In the particular proverb under consideration, the word “vision” is of importance.<\/p>\n
4) In this context, the word refers to God’s revelation through the prophets, i.e. a divine vision.<\/p>\n
5) And where such does not exist, the people have no standard other than themselves to guide them.<\/p>\n
6) With no such standard, they will perish.<\/p>\n
7) The original meaning of the word “vision,” however, is simply “to see.”<\/p>\n
8) The word came to mean, “to see the future” and thus was used by prophets to refer to their revelation.<\/p>\n
9) But the word also means to have a foresight of what the future ought to be like; to plan for the future.<\/p>\n
10)This last sense is what we want to consider today.<\/p>\n
3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION: Why do we need vision?<\/p>\n
I. NOT HAVING VISION RESULTS IN DISASTER<\/p>\n
1. The world understands this principle all to clearly.<\/p>\n
1) What business survives without a vision for the future?<\/p>\n
2) What successful family exists without setting goals?<\/p>\n
3) What government can so provide for the safety and freedom of her people without a vision of the future?<\/p>\n
2. God also understood the need to have vision.<\/p>\n
1) God made plans for man’s salvation before time began. Ephesians 3:10-11.<\/p>\n
2) Jesus made plans for his disciples. Matthew 10, the limited commission.<\/p>\n
3) Jesus also made plans and set goals for the disciples after his resurrection. Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 1:8.<\/p>\n
4) The apostles made plans under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Acts 16:6-10.<\/p>\n
5) What if God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit had had no vision?<\/p>\n
6) Where would we be today?<\/p>\n
3. Without some kind of vision we would have…<\/p>\n
1) No purpose – no direction in which to focus our efforts.<\/p>\n
2) No goals – nothing to seek to accomplish.<\/p>\n
3) No agenda – no plan by which to work or organize our efforts.<\/p>\n
4. Failure to have vision results in.<\/p>\n
1) Apathy – no one cares about anything because there is nothing to care about.<\/p>\n
2) Laziness – no one wants to do anything because there is nothing to do.<\/p>\n
3) Confusion – no one can agree upon what to do.<\/p>\n
II. HAVING VISION IMPROVES INDUSTRY<\/p>\n
1. By industry we mean, “Energetic devotion to a task or an endeavor; diligence:” (AHED).<\/p>\n
2. Status report illustration.<\/p>\n
3. God’s vision for man’s salvation includes a work for man to do.<\/p>\n
1) We have to take the gospel to the world (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16).<\/p>\n
2) We have to do good to those in need (Galatians 6:10).<\/p>\n
3) We have to exhort the faithful (Hebrews 3:13).<\/p>\n
4) God has created us to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).<\/p>\n
5) Knowing God’s vision improves our industry.<\/p>\n
6) Our vision is to work God’s vision in our local setting.<\/p>\n
4. When we have vision…<\/p>\n
1) We will set goals – where do we expect to be 5 years from now? 10? 20?<\/p>\n
2) We will have a plan to accomplish those goals.<\/p>\n
3) We will expect that there is something to do.<\/p>\n
4) Everyone will have something to do.<\/p>\n
5) We will rejoice when the work is done.<\/p>\n
5. The bottom line is that we won’t get any work done unless there is a plan for the work!<\/p>\n
III. HAVING VISION IMPROVES ATTITUDES<\/p>\n
1. It is easy to get downhearted when we have nothing to do!<\/p>\n
1) When we don’t have vision, we won’t have anything to do.<\/p>\n
2) The old adage is true, “Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop!”<\/p>\n
2. With vision, our attitudes improve because we have things to do.<\/p>\n
1) We have unity.<\/p>\n
2) We have a common purpose.<\/p>\n
3) We will have common goals to pursue.<\/p>\n
4) We will have focus.<\/p>\n
5) We will have good moral as a result of our accomplishments.<\/p>\n
3. Happiness, Gladness, and Joy result from these attitudes.<\/p>\n
1) Consider John’s words: 3 John 1:4 “Greater joy have I none than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”<\/p>\n
2) Philippians 2:2 “make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind…”<\/p>\n
3) 1 John 1:4 “and these things we write, that our joy may be made full.”<\/p>\n
4. With a clear vision, our attitudes will improve because we will not wander aimlessly.<\/p>\n
1) Consider the children of Israel who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years because they didn’t accept God’s vision.<\/p>\n
2) Will we learn from their mistakes?<\/p>\n
IV. THE FUTURE LITERALLY DEPENDS UPON IT<\/p>\n
1. If we have no vision for the future then what kind of future will we have?<\/p>\n
1) Unplanned.<\/p>\n
2) Unorganized.<\/p>\n
3) Unexpected.<\/p>\n
2. In order to have the kind of future that God wants us to have, both upon the earth and in eternity, we need vision.<\/p>\n
1) Living by God’s plan will guarantee our eternal future.<\/p>\n
2) Our immediate future on the earth, however, requires some vision for how to execute God’s plan in the here and now.<\/p>\n
3) We need to plan the work and work the plan to ensure that our future will be of God’s making and not our own.<\/p>\n
4) We need to organize effectively in order to get the work done.<\/p>\n
5) We need to set goals and plan for unexpected contingencies.<\/p>\n
3. Consider the example of Joseph in Genesis 41.<\/p>\n
1) There he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream.<\/p>\n
2) Seven years of plenty; then seven years of famine would follow.<\/p>\n
3) In order to get through those years of famine, Joseph had a vision.<\/p>\n
4) Save 1\/5th of the produce from the first seven years.<\/p>\n
5) Pharaoh put Joseph in charge so that the plan would be done.<\/p>\n
6) That plan worked because Joseph had vision.<\/p>\n
7) As a result, the future of the nation of Israel was protected.<\/p>\n
4. If we fail to have a vision of the future, there will be no future for us as a church.<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
1. We need vision because…<\/p>\n
1) Not having vision results in disaster.<\/p>\n
2) Having vision improves industry.<\/p>\n
3) Having vision improves attitudes.<\/p>\n
4) The future literally depends upon us having vision.<\/p>\n
2. Do we have vision? For our own lives? For the church?<\/p>\n
3. Invitation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Listen Date written: March 18th, 2006Scripture ref: Proverbs 29:18 SUBJECT: Stewardship, Responsibility, Planning, Leadership, Church Growth TITLE: The Need for Vision PROPOSITION: We need vision because 1) Not having vision results in disaster, 2) Having a vision improves attitudes, 3) Having a vision improves industry, 4) The future literally depends upon our having vision. Objectives: … Continue reading “The Need for Vision – Bible study”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}