Always At Your Post Part 11: Committing Your Vision to Writing
Introduction It is an almost incomprehensible truth that our triune God has graciously invited you and me to participate in His ultimate purposes, with every detail of our lives perfectly woven into the fabric of His grand metanarrative (the counsels of His will), until all things are reconciled to Christ (Eph. 1:20), who is the head over all rule and authority (Col. 2:10). As God s adopted children, we have been called into fellowship with His Son and have been summoned to fulfill the Great Commandment, the Great Commission, and the Cultural Mandate with faithfulness, passion, and wisdom. Once we have eyes to see the biblical narrative and God s plans for the ages, we take great delight in discovering and doing our assigned part for His glory.
Introduction Many have now argued the point that being intentional and strategic about our calling and work will accomplish more than being only reactive and opportunistic. On more than one occasion you have heard it said that if you fail to plan, you can plan to fail ; and, if you don t know where you are going, any road will get you there. If we are truly sincere about capturing God s vision for our lives, it is mandatory that we begin to assimilate all that God has revealed to us in His Word and by His Spirit and take our first steps toward integrating these truths into an intentional, workable plan that honors Christ and bears much fruit for His glory. We begin our study today with a passage from Acts.
Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. - King David (Acts 2:28)
How to Capture God s Vision for Your Life Know God and yourself. Answer the question: Who are you? By what name does God call you? Openly identify and own your worldview. Enter into solitude and silence to hear God s voice. Seek Him with all of your heart (Jer. 29:13). Look for a man or woman of understanding to give wise counsel. Approve or test the will of God and continue to obey Him as He leads. Look to the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word to your heart. Enter into a long series of deepening surrenders to God.
Os Guinness Are you ducking the questions that seeking raises in you? Is the quest still formal, abstract, and at arm s length for you? Or are you facing the challenge with all your heart, mind, and soul, rising to your full responsibility in answering all that God and life are addressing to you? Let your heart and mind run deep. Engage with every fiber of your being on the long journey home.
Is It Appropriate to Plan? To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue (Prov. 16:1). In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps (Prov. 16:9). Many are the plans in a man s heart, but it is the Lord s purpose that prevails (Prov. 19:21). Make plans by seeking advice; if you wage war, obtain guidance (Prov. 20:18).
Wrongful Pursuits in Life Fame Riches Power Position Excessive gratification Independence The now Sex Appearance Knowledge Turn my eyes away from worthless things; renew my life according to your word. - Psalm 119:37
O.T. Word for Counsel & Advice I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you (Ps. 32:8). May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed (Ps. 20:4). You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory (Ps. 73:24). But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel (Ps. 106:13). Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors (Ps. 119:24).
Six Elements of a Vision Vitality: Be alive to God (Rom. 6:11). Insight: See the way things could be (II Tim. 3:14-15 Scripture makes us wise). Single-mindedness: Be focused (Phil. 3:12-14; Heb. 12:2). Inspiration: Be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:16-18). Obstacles: Be courageous (I Cor. 2:1-5; see also Joshua, be strong and courageous ). Needs: Be sensitive (Phil. 2:19-30).
Commit Your Vision to Writing During the time that you are praying and seeking to capture your vision from the Lord, make notes as He gives you insights and speaks to you through His Word. These notes may be the very foundation of an emerging vision that the Lord is calling you to fulfill.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.
Three Musts The following insights are from Peter F. Drucker s book, Managing the Non-Profit Organization: Competence: Look at strength and performance. Opportunities: Look outside at the opportunities, the needs. Where can we, with the limited resources we have really make a difference, really set a new standard? One sets the standard by doing something and doing it well. Commitment: Look at what we really believe in I have never seen anything being done well unless people were committed.
The Macedonia Man And they (Paul & Timothy) passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: A certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:6-10).
David s Plans for the Temple And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work. Then David gave his son Solomon the plans, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things (I Chron. 28:9-12).
Principles from I Chronicles 28 Acknowledge God. Serve Him (with wholehearted devotion & a willing mind). Seek Him (and you will find Him). You have been chosen by God (to build the temple). David gave Solomon the detailed plans for the temple. The plans had been given to David by the Holy Spirit. All this is in writing, David said, because the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan (vs. 19). God is with you; He will not fail or forsake you (vs. 20).
Beware of False Counsel Saul s words to David regarding Goliath: David said to Saul, Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him. Saud replied, You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth (I Sam. 17:32-33). The Minority/Majority report of the spies exploring Canaan: Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. But the men who had gone up with him said, We can t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. And they spread among the Israelites
Beware of False Counsel a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them (Num. 13:30-33). The serpent speaks to Eve: You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:4-5).
Beware of False Counsel What are we going to do with these men? they asked. Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone about this name. Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard (Acts 4:16-20).
How We Should Fulfill Our Vision Heartily: Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men (Col. 3:23). Carefully: Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil (Eph. 5:15-16). Urgently: I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14). Obediently: We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).
My Purpose & Vision Purpose (Why do I exist?) To engage all I am for the glory of God. Vision (What am I trying to accomplish?) To permeate the Kingdom of God with reproducing leaders.