May 23, 2004

Service Theme – "Our God Leads Us"

Proverbs 29:18; Acts 26:16-19

Called, Obedient and Focused

  1. Introduction
    1. Illustration – The story is told of the foreman on a building site who asks one of the builders what he is doing. The builder replies, "I'm breaking rocks." Another worker is asked the same question, and he answers, "I'm earning for my family." The question is posed to a third worker. With a glint in his eye, he responds, "I'm building a cathedral" (as cited on PreachingToday.com).
    2. Context – Did you notice that two of the workers focused on what they were doing at the moment, but that one of them focused on the end result? He kept the goal in sight, and that’s what God wants us to do. To help us understand this, let’s read Proverbs 29:18 from several different translations of the Bible.
  1. Scripture Passage
    1. Proverbs 29:18 (from the New Living) – (NEW SLIDE) When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is happy.
    2. Proverbs 29:18 (from the NIV) - (NEW SLIDE) Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.
    3. Proverbs 29:18 (from the King James) - (NEW SLIDE) Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
    4. Proverbs 29:18 (from the NRSV) - (NEW SLIDE) Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint, but happy are those who keep the law.
    5. Proverbs 29:18 (from the New Century Version) - (NEW SLIDE) Where there is no word from God, people are uncontrolled, but those who obey what they have been taught are happy.
    6. Proverbs 29:18 (from Young’s Literal Translation) - (NEW SLIDE) Without a Vision is a people made naked, And whoso is keeping the law, O his happiness!
    7. Proverbs 29:18 (from The Message) – (NEW SLIDE) If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.
  1. Without God’s Vision We Lose Focus
    1. What’s the point of looking at this verse from all these different angles? So that we can see how important it is for us to focus on the vision God has given us. The consequences of losing that focus are catastrophic! I like how The Message captures the essence of this verse – (NEW SLIDE) if we can’t focus on what God is doing and what He wants us to do to work with Him, we’re stumbling around like the three blind mice! The apostle Paul shows us the impact that staying focused can have on us.
    2. In Acts 26 Paul is making his defense against the accusations of the Jewish leaders in front of Governor Felix and King Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great. In verses sixteen through nineteen he gives a beautiful summary of what his life is all about. I’m reading from the NIV: (NEW SLIDE) "‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. (NEW SLIDE) I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ 19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven." Paul lays out here the gist of the vision God has given him and what he’s supposed to do about it.
    3. In a nutshell, Paul was called, obedient and focused. (NEW SLIDE) Jesus appeared to him and called and appointed him to be God’s servant and messenger. Likewise, God has called us as individuals and as a church to be God’s servant and messenger. That’s the whole purpose of our existence as Christians and as a church. If we’re not serving God as His slaves and spreading His message to our world, we might as well not be Christians. Fire insurance ain’t worth it! In 1 Corinthians 15:19 Paul writes, (NEW SLIDE) If we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world. Life isn’t easy, and life as a Christian can be even tougher because the enemy of our souls is actively fighting against us. So if we are counting on this life to be the best there is with no eternal life to come, we’re pitiful! Paul was God’s servant and messenger not only because God called Him to do it, but also because Paul knew that by doing so he was ensuring his eternal future. If we as a church become the servants and messengers God has called us to be, look out! Life won’t be easy, but the rewards of seeing people come to know Christ and be transformed by His love pouring out through us will be worth it.
    4. (NEW SLIDE) Second, Paul was obedient. Verse nineteen: "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven." God gave Paul a gripping purpose, and Paul did everything he could to fulfill that purpose. The purpose God gave him was not easy to accomplish, and Paul suffered a lot in living out God’s purpose. Yet when you read through the New Testament you find many churches that Paul started and several where he discipled and left disciplers. His impact was magnified by God because Paul was obedient to God’s purpose. So he could write with confidence, in 1 Corinthians 15:58, (NEW SLIDE) So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. Those words mean a lot to me. There are lots of times when I wonder if I am making any kind of an impact for Jesus or if I ever will. You know what I mean? Paul’s message confirms to me that God is using me for His glory as long as I stay obedient to Him and His purposes. The same is true for us as a church. God will use us as a church for His glory as long as we stay obedient to Him and His purposes.
    5. (NEW SLIDE) Third, Paul was focused. He was focused on the vision God gave him. Jesus tells him in Acts 26:17-18: I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. God’s vision for Paul – to help people come to know Christ, to be filled with His Spirit, to walk with Him by faith. Salvation, sanctification and discipleship are cornerstone truths of all of Paul's writings, and they are cornerstones of the vision God has given us. The general purpose God gives to all churches is the same. (NEW SLIDE) His specific vision for us is what He knows fits who we are and who we will become as a church. We are called to bring people to personal relationship with Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, to lead them to maturity in Christ through committed discipleship, to help them to be sanctified, completely filled with and surrendered to His Spirit. That’s a lot higher purpose than anything I could ever dream up! But it isn’t enough to be aware of God’s purpose for us, we’ve got to stay focused on that purpose. That’s the message of Proverbs 29:18. When we stay focused on God’s vision, we do well. When we lose that focus, lots of bad can happen. Reread that verse again sometime this week and think about the negatives that can happen to a people who are not focused on God’s vision. (NEW SLIDE) Without focus, we will eventually drift away from God. With focus, we will consistently move toward Him.
    6. I know many folks here aren’t too sold on the concepts of mission and vision. I know some may not even be aware of what they are. But I’m here to tell all of us that God is focused. God is focused on His vision for us, so that should make us focused on that vision as well. We’ve got to look at and learn from the life of Paul. He was called, obedient and focused, and look at the impact he made for Jesus Christ. We are called, and we’ve got to be obedient and focused if we’re going to make any kind of an impact for Jesus Christ in our world. There is simply no other option. Helen Keller once said, (NEW SLIDE) "What would be worse than being born blind? To have sight without vision" (as cited on SermonCentral.com). She’s right. (NEW SLIDE) God has given us a powerful vision of His preferred future for us, and if we are focused on and obedient to that vision and calling He has made on us, we will experience the joy of His presence and power among us!
    7. Illustration – Pastor Tony Miano said, "As I look ahead, far ahead, two to three years down the road, I do see God doing it, even though I may not know all of the details today. That’s what vision is. Vision is not a crystal ball or hearing audible voices. It is the belief in one’s heart that God is going to do something that is consistent with His Word and consistent with His will, and believing that what God is going to do will have an amazing impact on your life. (NEW SLIDE) Having vision is having the confident belief that the promises of God are going to be realized in the future of our church" (as cited on SermonCentral.com). Paul was called, obedient and focused. We have been called to follow God’s vision, to be obedient to Him and His calling, to stay focused on Him. If we do this while loving people as God loves them, as we talked about last week, look out! His Spirit will overwhelm us, and we will truly know Him as a body of believers. There is great joy and peace in being in the center of His will. Are we willing to be called, obedient and focused on Him and His vision for us?
  1. Conclusion
    1. Please bow your heads and close your eyes out of respect for each other’s privacy. How has God been speaking to your heart this morning? How much have you been buying into His vision for our church? How much more does He want you to?
    2. If God is calling you to a higher level of commitment to His purposes for our church, are you willing to make that commitment? If you are willing to make that higher level of commitment to His calling on our church, to be obedient to that calling, to be focused on that calling, please raise your hand now as a sign of that commitment. Then start living out that new commitment by acting on it from this moment forward! The first act of that commitment, besides raising your hand, is to take out of your bulletin the "green card", reading and signing it. Keep it with you as a reminder that we are aliens here and that God’s purposes outweigh anything else on this earth. Read and sign it right now. Let’s pray.
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