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?

Vision

ACTS 13:1-5

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

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 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. 3, And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 4, So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5, And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. (Acts 13:1-5)

In Acts 13, Doctor Luke introduces us to the first missionary journey from the church at Antioch. It was a cosmopolitan church comprised of both Jewish and Gentile believers including members from all parts of that ancient society. Today we would refer to them as a multicultural church; Paul and Barnabas launched their first mission trip from the heart and vision this church had for the world of lost humanity. The relatively homogeneous church in Jerusalem was bond by traditions and prejudices that hindered the spread of the Gospel, but this primarily Gentile congregation in Antioch more readily embraced Christ’s vision for all His churches.

The Apostle Paul on a later occasion articulated Christ’s purpose for him as an evangelist and missionary saying in Acts 26:18,

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Certainly, these are reasonable elements of any evangelistic or missionary endeavor. To help the blind see reality, to point to the way of light, to free the slave from satanic bondage into the freedom of God, to be graciously forgiven by God for sins—released by a holy God from guilt, shame, and failures, to become a joint-heir with Christ through faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior. This is Christ’s description of ministry shaping and purpose orienting vision for the Apostle Paul. We all need some passages or guidance from Christ to serve as our north star.

Truthfully, our communities grope in a prison of spiritual darkness and moral blindness and the only hope is the light of Jesus Christ shinning forth through gospel heralds. The Gospel must even penetrate into the darkest recesses of our communities with the glorious message of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ—He is the Light of the World. Goals consistent with this would involve enlisting more evangelists and missionaries and involving every possible member of Christ’s churches to carry the gospel to each community and the world beyond.   

The question today is how should we prepare ourselves? How can we embrace a God-given Vision for Christ’s mission? The church of Antioch affords a legitimate model. It was a church of clear vision and real passion. The next few articles will explore these characteristics. 

How To Avoid Shipwreck

2 Peter 1:5-11

Subject: Spiritual Growth 

Theme: diligently apply yourself to sustain spiritual growth.

Introduction:

In order to sustain growth, we must apply serious, concentrated, and laborious persistence (2Pet. 1:5-11). Verses 3 and 4 declare how God has given us all that is required for experiencing Christ’s divine life. Because He has, we must be diligent in cultivating it. God does not make us holy against our will or without our involvement. There must be desire, determination, and discipline on our part.

Peter referred back to the divine nature by beginning this new paragraph with the words “And besides this” or for this very reason. The words “giving all diligence” means to make every effort to apply zeal; it is bringing to bear our personal determination alongside the provisions and promises of God.  It takes every bit of diligence and effort a Christian can muster, along with the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, to “escape the corruption that is in the world” caused by our evil desires (2 Peter 1:4) and to bring in alongside of our faith a complement of virtue. We must work hard at cultivating the seven qualities Peter listed in verses 5-7. As a Christian does so, we become more like Christ, participating more fully in God’s “divine nature.”

Where there is life, there must be growth. The new birth is not the end; it is the beginning. God gives His children all that we need to live Christ-like lives, but we, His children, must apply ourselves and be diligent to use the “means of grace” He has provided. Spiritual growth is not automatic. It requires cooperation with God and the application of spiritual diligence and discipline. “Work out your own salvation.... For it is God which worketh in you”(Phil. 2:12–13).

Lesson:

Make Every Effort to Grow and Experience The Benefits of Spiritual Growth (1:8-10).

There is either advance or decline in the pathway of discipleship—no standing still. There is strength and security in moving forward; danger and failure in retreat. Failure to persevere in the development of Christian character leads to barrenness, unfruitfulness, blindness, shortsightedness, and forgetfulness.  When this happens we know we are not 'growing up' in the Lord.  But how can we know we are advancing?  Peter gave three solid evidences of genuine spiritual growth.

There will be Spiritual Fruitfulness: Assurance of fruitfulness in the knowledge of Christ (1:8-9).

Notice the Benefits of Fruitfulness.

                                Christian growth (1:5-7) results in spiritual effectiveness and productivity. The words “be in you” means “possessing” and emphasizes that these spiritual qualities “belong to” Christians.

                                However, Christians are to do more than merely possess these virtues. Effective and productive spirituality comes as these qualities “abound”—more than adequate measure. There is to be a growth in grace. A believer who does not progress in these seven areas is ineffective and unproductive in his saving knowledge—“full personal knowledge”—of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     Notice the Consequences of Unfruitfulness.

                                Unfortunately many Christians know the Lord in salvation, but they lack the “fruit” of the Spirit and are not advancing spiritually. They remain “infants in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1), still in need of spiritual “milk” (Heb. 5:12-13).

                                But as Peter urged, believers should “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

     Thus avoiding barrenness (1:8).  Only the life lived in fellowship with God can be truly effective. The guidance of the Holy Spirit eliminates barren activity and insures maximum efficiency. Otherwise, we simply going through the motions, but we are not producing anything godly.

     Thus avoiding unfruitfulness (1:8).  It is possible to have considerable knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and yet be unfruitful in that knowledge. Failure to practice what we know leads inevitably to barrenness. Inflow without outgo killed the Dead Sea, and it kills productivity in the spiritual realm as well.

     There will be Spiritual Vision: Avoidance of blindness in the knowledge of Christ (1:9).

     We can avoid blindness and shortsightedness (1:9). In contrast with a growing Christian, a carnal believer is blind and nearsighted.

                                A believer with spiritual myopia is not magnifying the grace of Christ. Since his life is not evidencing the seven characteristics listed in verses 5-7, he seems to be just like a spiritually blind (or unsaved) person (2 Cor. 4:4; John 9:39). He is not aware of what is central in life. He lacks discernment of true spiritual values. He lives in a dark world of shadows. (MacDonald)

                                The phrase cannot see afar off means “shortsighted.” It is the picture of somebody closing or squinting his eyes, unable to see at a distance.

                                There are some Christians who see only their own church, or their own denomination, but who fail to see the greatness of God’s family around the world. Some believers see the needs at home but have no vision for a lost world. –W. W. Wiersbe

                                Shortsightedness encompasses the fact that there are various degrees of impaired vision which are spoken of as blindness (1:9). Shortsightedness here specifies the form of blindness in which man lives for the present rather than the future. He is so occupied with material things that he neglects the spiritual.

     We can avoid forgetfulness (1:9). Since they lack these seven virtues, they have forgotten that they have been cleansed from their pre-conversion sins. Such Christians are spiritually immature. Though they have been cleansed from their sins, they have not grown spiritually (Titus 3:5). The truth of his redemption has lost its grip on them. He or she is going back in the direction from which they were once rescued. They are toying with sins that caused the death of God’s Son.

    There will be Spiritual Security: Assurance of salvation and greater reward (1:10-11).

     This involves confirming our calling an election (1:10).

                                Peter exhorts his readers to confirm their calling and election (1:10). These are two facets of God’s plan of salvation. Election refers to His sovereign, eternal choice of individuals to belong to Himself. Calling refers to His action in time by which the choice is made evident. Our election took place before the world was made; our call takes place when we are converted. Chronologically, there is first election, then call. But in human experience we first become aware of His call, then we realize we were chosen in Christ from all eternity.

                                We cannot make our calling and election more sure than they already are; God’s eternal purposes can never be thwarted. But we can confirm them by growing in likeness to the Lord. By manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, we can provide unmistakable evidence that we truly belong to Him. A holy life proves the reality of our salvation.

                                Peter pointed out that “calling” and “election” go together. The same God who elects His people also ordains the means to call them. The two must go together, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation.... Whereunto He called you by our Gospel” (2 Thes. 2:13–14). We do not preach election to unsaved people; we preach the Gospel. But God uses that Gospel to call sinners to repentance, and then those sinners discover that they were chosen by God! (Wiersbe)

                                Peter also pointed out that election is no excuse for spiritual immaturity or for lack of effort in the Christian life. Some believers say, “What is going to be is going to be. There is nothing we can do.” But Peter admonishes us to “give diligence.” This means “make every effort.” (He used this same verb in 2 Peter 1:5.) While it is true that God must work in us before we can do His will (Phil. 2:12–13), it is also true that we must be willing for God to work, and we must cooperate with Him. Divine election must never be an excuse for human laziness. –Wiersbe: The Bible Exposition Commentary

     This involves preventing a fall into sin, disgrace, and disuse (1:10).

                                Living a holy life will keep us from stumbling. It is not a question of falling into eternal perdition; the work of Christ delivers us from that. Rather, it refers to falling into sin, disgrace, or disuse. If we fail to progress in divine things, we are in danger of wrecking our lives. But if we walk in the Spirit, we will be spared from being disqualified for His service. God guards the Christian who moves forward for Him. The peril lies in spiritual idleness and blindness. –MacDonald: Believer's Bible Commentary

                                If you walk around with your eyes closed, you will stumble! But the growing Christian walks with confidence because he knows he is secure in Christ. It is not our profession of faith that guarantees that we are saved; it is our progression in the faith that gives us that assurance. The person who claims to be a child of God but whose character and conduct give no evidence of spiritual growth is deceiving himself and heading for judgment.

                                   

     This involves securing a grand entrance into Christ’s everlasting kingdom (1:11).

                                Not only is there safety in constant spiritual progress, there is also the promise of a richly-provided entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Peter refers here not to the fact of our entry but to the manner of it. The only basis of admission to the heavenly kingdom is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But some will have a more abundant entrance than others. There will be degrees of reward. And the rewards are here said to depend on the degree of one’s conformity to the Savior. (Wiersbe)

                                In fact, the growing Christian can look forward to an abundant entrance into the eternal kingdom! The Greeks used this phrase to describe the welcome given Olympic winners when they returned home. Every believer will arrive in heaven, but some will have a more glorious welcome than others. Remember, some believers “shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Cor. 3:15).

                                The word ministered in 2 Peter 1:11 is the same as the word add in 2 Peter 1:5, and it means “to bear the expenses of a chorus.”

                                When the Greek theatrical groups presented their dramas, somebody had to underwrite the expenses, which were very great. The word came to mean “to make lavish provision.” If we make lavish provision to grow spiritually (2 Peter 1:5), then God will make lavish provision for us when we enter heaven! –The Bible Exposition Commentary

                                The ultimate reward of a growing, Christ-honoring life is the personal “welcome” by the Savior into His kingdom. Stephen experienced it (Acts 7:56); Paul knew when it was imminent for him (2 Tim. 4:7-8, 18); and every believer will experience such a welcome when he enters the Lord’s presence in heaven. …The entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be supplied with richness; it will be a wonderful “welcome home.” –Walvoord: The Bible Knowledge Commentary

Conclusion:

What spiritual disciplines have helped you the most in your Christian walk?

Clearly our Father knows our weaknesses. He knows we are prone to be undisciplined in spiritual matters. We need Him to come alongside us and help us. We all should ask for Him to guide us, and give us perseverance and discipline so that we can grow in our knowledge of Him. May we never be content with less than His best. The prayer on all of our lips should be, “Show us how much more you want to teach us. May we always hear your voice and obey.”

Remember God has given us all that is required for experiencing Christ’s divine life. Because He has, we must be diligent in cultivating it. God does not make us holy against our will or without our involvement. There must be desire, determination, and discipline on our part.

“Add to your faith”: Supplement it, flesh it out. Being a Christian doesn't mean believing and then just sitting around. Now that you have faith in God's part, make every effort—that's your part.

That's disciplines.

That's regular “holy habits.”

That's pacing yourself for the cross country run to your future.

Says Henri Nouwen, “A spiritual life without discipline is impossible.” Tighten your belt. Get tough on yourself. GO FOR IT.

A woman once said to the great Paderewski, “Sir, you are truly a genius.”

“Well,” he answered, “before I was a genius, I was a drudge!”

To get there, to win—your life needs discipline, order, and arrangement.

“If one examines the secret behind a championship football team, a magnificent orchestra, or a successful business, the principle ingredient is invariably discipline” (James Dobson, Discipline of the Home).

You will only discover excellence on the other side of hard work.

(From My Sacrifice, His Fire by Anne Ortlund)