Jan. 09, 2022

The Awesome Power of Vision

Paul: “I have not been disobedient to the vision God gave me.”  Acts 26:19b

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  Proverbs 29:18

AN UNCLEAR VISION LEADS TO . . .

• INDECISION

“Double minded people can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.”  James 1:8

• DIVISION

“When a country is in chaos, everybody has a plan to fix it. But it takes a leader of real understanding to straighten things out.”  Proverbs 28:2 (MSG)  

• COLLISION

“Some have refused to let their faith guide their conscience and their faith has been destroyed like a wrecked ship.”  1 Timothy 1:19 (GW)

Jesus: “Your eyes are the lamp of your body. If your eyes are open and good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your vision is bad, your whole life will be full of darkness. And if the light you think you have is really darkness, it’s the worst kind of darkness you can have!”  Matthew 6:22-23  

EXAMPLE: SEEING THE FUTURE WITH FAITH OR FEAR

“Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the new land: ‘Go northward through the Negev into the hill country and SEE what the land is like and FIND OUT whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls or are they unprotected? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Enter the land boldly, and bring back samples of the crops YOU SEE.’”  Numbers 13:17-20 (NLT) 

“So they SPIED OUT the land all the way from the wilderness...up to Hebron.  There THEY SAW the Ahmanites, the Sheshites, and the Talmites, all families descended from Anak. When they came to Eshcol, they cut down a cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it back on a pole!They also took samples of pomegranates and figs.” Numbers 13:21-23 (LB)

“After SEEING the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses and Aaron, and the people of Israel waiting at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community WHAT THEY HAD SEEN and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.”  Numbers 13:25-26 (NLT)

LOOKING AT THE FUTURE WITH FEAR CAUSES PROBLEMS

1. I OVEREMPHASIZE THE NEGATIVE IN MY LIFE

“This was their report to Moses: ‘We arrived in the land you sent us TO SEE, and it is indeed a magnificent country — a land “flowing with milk and honey!” Here is some of its fruit as proof. BUT the people living there are powerful, and their cities and towns are fortified and very large. We ALSO SAW the Anakim, descendants of Anak, who are living there!’”  Numbers 13:27-28 (LB)

2.  I PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING   

“The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the Hill Country; and the Canaanites live near the Sea and along the Jordan River!”  Numbers 13:29 (NLT)

3. I UNDERESTIMATE THE ABILITIES GOD HAS GIVEN ME

“But the men who had gone up with Caleb said, ‘WE CAN’T attack those people; they are stronger than we are.’”  Numbers 13:31 (NIV)    

Job: “What I have always feared has happened to me. What I have dreaded has come to be.”  Job 3:25 (NLT) 

“They said, ‘The land we explored DEVOURS those living in it! ALL the people we saw there are of great size! We SAW GIANTS there! We seemed like grasshoppers IN OUR OWN EYES, and we looked the same to them!’”  Numbers 13:32b-33 (NIV)

4. I INFECT OTHERS WITH MY NEGATIVITY

“They SPREAD A BAD REPORT about the land they had explored.”    Numbers 13:32a

“Don't say that everything people call a conspiracy is a conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear. Don't let it terrify you.”  Isaiah 8:12 (GW) 

5. I MAKE MYSELF MISERABLE

“Then all the people began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. And they grumbled and complained in a great chorus against their leaders, Moses and Aaron. ‘We wish we’d died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!’ they wailed.”  Numbers 14:1-2

THE ANTIDOTE: DEVELOP A LIFE VISION OF FAITH

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go at once and take possession of the land RIGHT NOW! WE CAN certainly do this!’”  Numbers 13:30 (NLT) 

“Then Joshua said: ‘We saw the land ourselves, and it’s very good.  IF WE OBEY the Lord, he will surely give us that land rich with milk and honey. So don't rebel. We have no reason to be afraid of the people who live there. The Lord is on our side, and they won't stand a chance against us!’”   Numbers 14:6-9 (CEV)