VISION - Rev.Helen Harray
Introduction: Vision is a big topic. It is different to goals or calling.
Vision is where…. Goals are how…
Is the glass half full or half empty?
We placed a cup on each table partially filled it with water.
Around the tables we discussed: When we look at this glass what do we see?
Was there any discrepancy in how we saw the contents of the glass?
Different personality types may come up with different ways of seeing this:
The glass is half full…. Active and hard driving, visionary
The glass is half empty…. Agreeable and organized
The glass is half full, no wait its half empty… observer easy going
Does it matter… talkative and fun loving
BE POSITIVE
You got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch onto affirmation, don't mess with Mr In Between. Spread joy up to the maximum, bring gloom down to the minimum, have faith…
HOW DO WE LOOK AT THINGS IN LIFE? Which category do you fit into?
1. For some, seeing anything, anything ahead is really hard. You struggle to exist let alone have a handle on the future! You are in a place of needing to work out your past, confusion, gaps. That's ok. I lived with very little vision for a long time.
For most of my life I have looked at the glass as half empty. A struggle to think I could do anything great. Survival mode. The Israelites never got out of survival mode, always seeing the glass half empty. Have they now?
More recently, I have discovered I can change some things that have been deeply embedded in my life since I was little.
A new day (grace), a new vision is possible. I don't have to remain the same. Every time I stand up here I am conquering the fears that say nobody wants to listen to me. What have I got to add? I am not this or that…. But you know what I have discovered? Even things I never thought could ever be different, can change when I bring God and a new way of thinking into the picture.
Even the drama/ humour is changing. I am getting a new vision of myself and what God can do with me if I'll say yes.
2. For others you just don't know enough about yourself yet to know where you want to head. The future is not clear though the past is relatively settled. You are waiting for it to unfold? The glass is a bit of both. You are reasonably comfortable in here. I'll wait and see. You don't know yourself all that well yet. This is a common place to be at your age.
Or it's just a muddle, confusing. Don't know how to find your way through the puzzle of life.
3. For some, life is very exciting, you know exactly where you are going. The glass is full and overflowing… If this describes you: where is Jesus in your plans and goals
In the story of the Promised Land, the spies were sent in to see what was ahead of them. Only two spies saw the possibilities and were totally excited by them. The rest saw only the problems and subsequently everyone was kept out except Joshua and Caleb.
WHAT do we think of when we talk about vision or about having a VISION for our life or community?
Summary:
1. VISION IS where I'm going, where my life is heading, or where the community/ church is going. The over arching reason for its being together. Whether you are a Christian or not.
2. VISION IS seeing THE POSSIBILITY OF CHANGE, A NEW WAY OF DOING/BEING
The possibility of being different
Proverbs 29:18
Without a vision or without redemptive revelations of God the people perish/languish.
We die for lack of inspiration and the ability to be changed by God, transformed daily.
Think of how it feels to be deeply depressed and have no hope, not any will to try to change. NO vision of life or meaning.
3. VISION IS A PICTURE OF THE FUTURE THAT PRODUCES PASSION, INSPIRATION
A life changing image of the future that makes your pulse quicken.
Something that ignites a response that can't be ignored.
Something that you really believe in and want to be a part of or do.
What happens when you add the Holy Spirit to this equation?
IMAGINATION is a key word in the genre of vision
THINK DIFFERENTLY (the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do)
I know the world is full of opportunities and possibilities. If I don't stand up and take the lead who else will? And when we act together we are capable of so much more
KINGDOM OF GOD… Rev. Richard Dawson
Vision becomes a means by which the heart is sensitised to the kingdom of God.
1. The Kingdom of God as with any Kingdom is about the one who is King! Eg. John 1410,11, John 1037,38. It's not about the rules of the Kingdom. If you really want to know something about a kingdom - take a close look at the King. Jesus tried very hard to get this across to the Pharisees but they just couldn't quite get it. Jesus said…
Luke 17:20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,
21 nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,'
A kingdom is not just about the rules of the kingdom. Let me say that again. Don't confuse a kingdom with its rules. Rules are simply one aspect of the life of a kingdom, a consequence of its life. They don't define its character, in fact they may well betray its character. America, for example, is supposed to be the bastion of freedom in the world and yet it is probably one of countries with the most rules you could find. Other countries where a dictator rules may well have few rules and yet freedom is severely restricted because the dictator wields complete power.
If you want to learn about God's Kingdom - get close to the King.
Jesus' work and life was lived out because of God's life within Him and here he's saying just that. 'It's because God is within Me that I work this way and that you can trust me!'
But it was and is also true of everyone else who was to find their way into the kingdom of God. It's as we draw close to God that we do God's work, not as we 'follow the rules.'
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
2. The Kingdom of God is not found in either appearances or the external shape of things.
Luke 17:20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,
21 nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,'
This is very close to the first point because rules are an external thing in the sense that they're a thing we can see and manipulate. But we need to remember that all sorts of things can take the place of the true rule of God over us. Down through the years the church has been constantly found wanting in this matter because we've pinned piety and obedience to the external look of things. Sometimes it has been our dress. A certain dress code comes to epitomise what it means to be Christian and I've lived in Christian communities where for a woman to wear trousers of any sort was tantamount to them denying God. Sometimes it's what we do for a living and again, in the past, certain professions were simply considered beyond the pale for Christians to be involved in. This may well be the case these days when it comes to our armed forces. Many Christians look upon those involved in the armed forces as people who are, somehow betraying the faith and yet Jesus Himself said that the person with the greatest faith He had encountered in Israel was a Roman soldier. Or it might be something like a person's academic or intellectual ability and how easy it is to get high and mighty about these things. You know, many of god's most faithful servants have been people of very low academic ability. Indeed it seems to me that it is often the case the God gives these people greater faith than is normal. The great healing evangelist Smith Wigglesworth was taught to read finally by his wife. The great American evangelist Moody was considered by his relatives and close friends in his younger years to be completely without gifting and grace. And yet how easy it is to look down on people without these natural gifts. The kingdom of God is not discovered or known by virtue of these sort of external things. Remember the words of god to Samuel…
1Sam 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
3. This leads me to my final point in regard to God's kingdom. If the kingdom is about the King first and not about external things second then where do we discover God's Kingdom. Jesus is clear about this…
Luke 17:20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,
21 nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
This kingdom of God is within you! And this means that God's rule begins with the shaping of the heart rather than with the shaping of the world.
Do you want to know God's kingdom, then look to your own heart - to have it shaped and changed by God and to find God at work already in there.
And this is why it is far more important for us to know something of the way our hearts work and to be in touch with that than to be carving out a glorious career or future in the world because God works 'from the heart outwards.' The kingdom of God is formed from within. This involves two dynamics.
The first is one that we are probably all aware of and that is the need to allow our hearts to be changed and this is always a very difficult thing to do because it involves us becoming vulnerable. It is never an easy thing to open our heart to the possibility of change because it almost always involves some sort of pain.
The second dynamic is quite the opposite and it rests on the premise that God is already at work in and through our hearts and that if we will turn to those hearts and pay attention to them we will come to hear and to know God.
The very first work of the kingdom then is to 'change our hearts' - to turn them towards God, to re-sensitise them to God. Jesus uses many metaphors to describe this action. Some imply an event, others a journey. Eg. new birth, falling in love, gaining of knowledge/wisdom, getting healthy etc.
SUMMARY
- 1. Vision: we need something that inspires us and gives life meaning. Vision gives colour, potency, passion and empowerment to life. Be positive, think differently.
- 2. Vision is the big picture. Something that draws us on. It's both personal and corporate.
- 3. Vision brings clarity. Knowing who I am and what I'm about also true of a body like the church. When I'm unclear I live with an underlying drag of energy.
- 4. A TRANSFORMING Vision comes out of our heart relationship to Jesus as the foundation. It's generated from Jesus as the visual icon of the Kingdom
- 5. Part of the vision is that of newness. We don't have to remain caught in old ways of thinking and being. We are inspired beyond ourselves and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Back to Helen...DRAWING RESPONSE
Draw something that symbolizes vision for you.
Maybe a colour, a symbol, an undefined mess, a question mark, something literal/concrete, something abstract.
Describe it… the essence of what vision is for you
You may want to add to the picture as you describe it in words.
What connections have you made tonight?
Write some words or phrases which have stuck out for you.
Choose a passion colour. What feelings/ passions come along with this?
Is Jesus and the Kingdom of God a part of your picture?
How is it being expressed within you?
When you look out from this picture: who are you?
What passion/vision/inspiration is in your heart/being?
What sense do you get of the inspiration/motivation/newness that impels you on.
Draw/ write
Is there something new in this picture?
What do you want to tell yourself, reinforce, pray for as a result of tonight?