The Source of Vision

ACTS 13:1-5

To carry the Gospel to our community, we must embrace a God-Given Vision

In Acts 13, Doctor Luke communicates how this primarily Gentile congregation in Antioch willingly accepts Christ’s vision. The Word of God will provide the ministry-shaping and purpose-orienting vision for all genuine churches. We all need some guidance from God to serve as a legitimate model of vision. In this instance the First Century Church of Antioch is an excellent prototype to learn from.

Once again, note what Luke says in Acts 13:2,

As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

God gave vision to the church! It is obedience to this God-given vision that gives our churches restraint and provides direction in the local and worldwide mission endeavors. Here we need to entertain the question of where does vision come from? Who should we look to for vision for our church and ministry?

THE VISION FOR MISSIONS MUST COME FROM GOD

Acts 13:2, ... the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

In Antioch we hear the clarion voice of the Holy Spirit of God directing the church and his specific servants to the communities and regions beyond the city of Antioch. I do not know if the Spirit of God spoke audibly or through one of the pastors or a prophet; I do know the church receive its vision from God. The Source was and should also be divine! God’s people must insist upon this.

The Vision for the Local Mission Must Originate with God

Matthew 28:18-19, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

After our Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection, He commissioned his first church to take the good news to the entire world. God was directing his body to action and specifying the nature of that action. The local evangelistic vision for our communities must originate with God. At Antioch it was the Holy Ghost of God talking to his churches. Praise God they had a heart and ears to hear what the Spirit was saying.

A True Vision Is Not Centered in Human Beings, Either the Pastor or the People, but in God Himself. Vision is not the product of our own imagination or hopes; it is the discovery of God’s design and plan for each church. Beloved, we cannot lead a focus group to come up with God’s vision for our churches. We must consult with God as a collective people.

Missions Begins with a Supernatural Encounter with a Holy God.  Matthew 28:18, And Jesus came and spake unto them. . ..

You and I must first know God experientially. Once a believer knows the Lord through study and fellowship he will become captivated by God’s vision and then join Him in His redemptive activity. One key to vision discovery is prayer and fasting. “We have not because we ask not,” explains James 4:2. If we are to find God’s vision for our churches with regards to our local mission, we must be willing to ask and then to listen. Because we are activity oriented, our prayer times tend to be long on asking and short on listening. What is God trying to communicate to your heart through this message?

God’s Vision Will Be Centered in and Supported by The Word.           

Luke 24:44-48 And he [Lord Jesus] said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. [45] Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, [46] And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: [47] And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. [48] And ye are witnesses of these things.

The Lord Jesus Christ understood the importance of divine revelation providing the particulars of ministry endeavors. His entire public ministry pointed back to what was foretold about him hundreds of years before in the Word. The content and focus of His work were prescribed in the body of the Old Testament Scriptures. Beloved, God still speaks through His Bible. When the Bible is correctly interpreted and applied it will always provide clear guidance to the Work of God and His people. What the church in Antioch was embarking upon in Acts 13 had been commanded by the Lord Jesus years before!  

  

God's vision will always be centered in and supported by His precious Word—The Scriptures. God will not communicate a vision contrary to His own nature, purpose, the old Book.  If our vision is a grandiose scheme centered in our own ego rather than based solidly in Scripture, you can be sure it is not of God, and He will not empower our churches for this. We must always ask: “Does our vision find its base in the revealed Word of God? Does it reflect the character of God Himself? Will it glorify Him?”          

Many times, churches are motivated to see how many people they can win for bragging rights, or to merely outperform the other churches in town. They are driven to build a name for themselves as a “Evangelistic Church.” Actually, this really is pride. It sounds like the same things the people at the Tower of Babel said in Genesis chapter eleven. All of these are poor motivations! Being zealous for souls for the glory of Christ is wholesome but getting decisions to make another Face Book post is carnal. The scriptures must be the beat to which we march.

Vision from God Will Be Grounded in the Great Commission.

Bible based Vision will always be anchored in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15; John 20:21-23).

The Specific Vision for Each Church must Enable it to Better Fulfill the Great Commission. To make disciples through going, baptizing, and teaching obedience is not an option for any real church. Unless a church body is first committed to the Great Commission it is not likely to seek vision nor follow it.

One of the Most Important Series of Messages the Pastor Can Preach to Prepare People for Discovering a Vision Is a Series on the Mission and Ministry of the Local Church. Missions Conferences will provide us with the insights and encouragements to embrace a God-given vision for this world including the local community. Vision emerges when God's people have a clear understanding of the church's mission.  Worldwide evangelization is literally why the churches exist!

You May Assume that Everyone Knows the Great Commission Establishes the Marching Orders for a New Testament Church. This is not true!  A recent Christian publication referred to a survey taken throughout that state concerning the primary task of the church. Nine out of ten pastors identified the primary task as that of fulfilling the Great Commission, while only two out of ten church members/attendees did so. They believed that the primary ministry of the church was to meet the needs of the members. If we have not first accepted the Great Commission as the marching orders for the church, we will not know Christ’s vision for His churches.

Clearly, the true Source of Vision is the Lord God, and He largely communicates that vision through His written Word. Many leaders claim to have dreams, trances, an epiphany or a ‘word’, but what we need is a God-given vision rooted in the nature and character of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many churches virtually waste their existence focused on half-baked human endeavors that scarcely resemble an authentic work of Christ. For some it is all about them…all about the buildings, or all about the money. For others church is merely where they get their religious fix once or twice a month. Beloved, vision is written revelation in local application. Vision emerges from time in the presence of God, and meditation on the Great Commission. Remember, “Where there is no vision, the people perish….” God is speaking, but are you listening?