VISION

#1 · April 4, 2006, 11:11 am

Quote from Forum Archives on April 4, 2006, 11:11 am
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
VISION

April 2, 2006

TEXT: Matthew 16:21-28

As a high school student, I took the math and science courses available to me. In college, I graduated with a Bachelors degree in electrical engineering. I served over four years in submarines, a Navy vessel that has technical equipment packed into almost every available space. I am quite comfortable trying to figure out how things work and running experiments. So, this morning, we are going to do an experiment.

Everyone wearing glasses: remove them. If you have contacts, do not remove them; were not going to get that involved. But if you have glasses, take them off. Now take your bulletin and hold it so you can read it. (Or take a look at the chart on the screen.) What do you notice? For most of us with our glasses off this morning, the world gets blurred. Words are no longer readable. In fact, for you who do not need corrective lenses, read this chart for me. You get the idea now. I would be unable to function very well without my glasses. I would certainly be unable to drive or read much or do anything that requires any amount of eyesight at all. So these prescription lenses are very important to me. Without them, I would not have clear vision.

The point of this mornings experiment is to get us thinking about vision. Everyone prefers to operate with clear vision. That goes beyond eyesight, too. Vision also refers to imagination and looking ahead and planning. We like to have clear vision there, too.

Jesus had a vision. He had a plan that he was going to follow. His plan involved going to Jerusalem. He was very clear about that. From that time on, meaning the time that Peter and the disciples recognized and confessed that Jesus was the Christ, or Messiah, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Jesus vision was clear, so lets get it in focus. Its not hard. Jesus was going to Jerusalem. Jesus was going to suffer at the hands of the Temple leaders there. Jesus was going to be killed. Jesus was going to be raised to life. Is that not a clear vision?

As happens so many times with visionary leadership, however, not everyone can see quite as clearly. As the stories go, Copernicus was ridiculed for claiming that the earth and planets revolved around the sun. Columbus was ridiculed for believing that he could discover a sea route to the orient. DaVinci was ridiculed for his belief that man could build machines that would fly. Fast forward to the Wright brothers, and they were ridiculed for that, too. In spite of historys lesson time after time that people with visions accomplish remarkable things in spite of disbelief, we still tend to disbelieve.

Not even Jesus closest associates could get Jesus vision into focus. Peter, who verbalized the confession that Jesus was the Christ, took him aside and began to rebuke him. Matthew uses a word here that indicates that Peter did not pull Jesus aside just to give him a suggestion. Peter rebuked Jesus! He scorned Jesus! He told Jesus he was wrong! Never, Lord! he said. This shall never happen to you! In other words, Youre talking crazy, Jesus! Youve got it wrong! Hmmm. Who was it who had just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah - the Savior? How quickly we can lose our focus and vision.

Jesus was quick in his response. Jesus turned and said to Peter Now I am surprised that Matthew did not use the word for rebuke here, because Jesus was fixing to give Peter a big scolding. Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. Ouch.

There are a few ways that we can word Jesus response to Peter today. Get out of my way! is one interpretation. I am reminded of a saying printed in big letters on a wall at one of the Naval Reserve Centers I drilled at: Lead, follow, or get out of the way! Very clearly, Jesus said to Peter, Get out of my way! My vision is clear, and I am determined to follow it. My vision is of God. Get out of the way! Jesus never had his eyes off of the Father; Jesus vision was clearly clear. It took a while longer for Peters vision to clear up.

Every follower of Jesus Christ has an opportunity to receive clear vision. We just have to make sure that we are wearing the right lenses. The Bible, Gods Word, steers us clearly in the right direction. We are given Spiritual Gifts to use in the building up of Gods Kingdom. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, offer compassion. We are to worship God. We are to pray. We are to be a witness and a testimony for God. How can these visions given directly from the Word of God not be clear? We need to go to Jerusalem, and if anyone says differently, then watch out. Out of my sight, Satan!

On the second Thursday in April, and every second Thursday of every month - at least at the beginning - we are implementing a vision for intercessory prayer and outreach ministries on a church-wide basis. It is clear to every born-again Christian that Scripture calls every believer to prayer. James 5:16 instructs, Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Since prayer is such a prevalent word throughout the entirety of the Bible, should we dare ignore it? Prayer is clearly a ministry for all Christians.

Matthew 28:19-20 is an instruction directly from Jesus, and we know that he has vision. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.

How does this happen if Gods people have no vision for outreach? By outreach, I mean a variety of actions in response to Gods Word. In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus says If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What can outreach include? As I said earlier, feeding the poor and clothing the naked. What about the Volunteer/Mentor program being attempted by the Maconaquah School Corporation to make a difference in the lives of children left to satan? Also, clearly, outreach is sharing the Gospel with one who is lost. It is caring for those who have come to the Lord by helping them grow spiritually. Through our Thursday outreach ministry, we hope to make visits to visitors to our church, new members in the community, our shut-ins, and others. We are limited, I believe, only by our number willing to participate or support the ministries. At any rate, I know that we are following Jesus because he has provided the vision. Jesus is leading; we should be following. But if any of us cannot do that, then expect Jesus to tell us to get out of the way!

This morning, we are sharing Jesus vision through the Lords Supper. We will take the bread and the cup in remembrance of him. What are we to remember? That Jesus body was broken and that Jesus blood was shed for our sake. How do we honor Jesus for his sacrifice? By believing that he died and rose again to cleanse us from sin, and by receiving him into our life - our mind and our heart - as our personal Savior and Lord. If you are in this service this morning, and you have never made that faith commitment, then you are here for a purpose. And that is your purpose. If you leave here this morning without making that commitment, then you are fighting with Gods Spirit, not with me. But if you come to Jesus even now, we would love to celebrate with you your first communion as a born-again Christian.

For those here who are confessing, born-again Christians, use this hymn as your time of preparation to come to the Lords table and as a time to pray that one who is lost comes to know and accept salvation through Jesus Christ, who bled and died for sinners.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Next week, were going to Jerusalem, because thats where Jesus is going to be.

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana
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Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

VISION

April 2, 2006

TEXT: Matthew 16:21-28

As a high school student, I took the math and science courses available to me. In college, I graduated with a Bachelors degree in electrical engineering. I served over four years in submarines, a Navy vessel that has technical equipment packed into almost every available space. I am quite comfortable trying to figure out how things work and running experiments. So, this morning, we are going to do an experiment.

Everyone wearing glasses: remove them. If you have contacts, do not remove them; were not going to get that involved. But if you have glasses, take them off. Now take your bulletin and hold it so you can read it. (Or take a look at the chart on the screen.) What do you notice? For most of us with our glasses off this morning, the world gets blurred. Words are no longer readable. In fact, for you who do not need corrective lenses, read this chart for me. You get the idea now. I would be unable to function very well without my glasses. I would certainly be unable to drive or read much or do anything that requires any amount of eyesight at all. So these prescription lenses are very important to me. Without them, I would not have clear vision.

The point of this mornings experiment is to get us thinking about vision. Everyone prefers to operate with clear vision. That goes beyond eyesight, too. Vision also refers to imagination and looking ahead and planning. We like to have clear vision there, too.

Jesus had a vision. He had a plan that he was going to follow. His plan involved going to Jerusalem. He was very clear about that. From that time on, meaning the time that Peter and the disciples recognized and confessed that Jesus was the Christ, or Messiah, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Jesus vision was clear, so lets get it in focus. Its not hard. Jesus was going to Jerusalem. Jesus was going to suffer at the hands of the Temple leaders there. Jesus was going to be killed. Jesus was going to be raised to life. Is that not a clear vision?

As happens so many times with visionary leadership, however, not everyone can see quite as clearly. As the stories go, Copernicus was ridiculed for claiming that the earth and planets revolved around the sun. Columbus was ridiculed for believing that he could discover a sea route to the orient. DaVinci was ridiculed for his belief that man could build machines that would fly. Fast forward to the Wright brothers, and they were ridiculed for that, too. In spite of historys lesson time after time that people with visions accomplish remarkable things in spite of disbelief, we still tend to disbelieve.

Not even Jesus closest associates could get Jesus vision into focus. Peter, who verbalized the confession that Jesus was the Christ, took him aside and began to rebuke him. Matthew uses a word here that indicates that Peter did not pull Jesus aside just to give him a suggestion. Peter rebuked Jesus! He scorned Jesus! He told Jesus he was wrong! Never, Lord! he said. This shall never happen to you! In other words, Youre talking crazy, Jesus! Youve got it wrong! Hmmm. Who was it who had just confessed that Jesus was the Messiah - the Savior? How quickly we can lose our focus and vision.

Jesus was quick in his response. Jesus turned and said to Peter Now I am surprised that Matthew did not use the word for rebuke here, because Jesus was fixing to give Peter a big scolding. Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. Ouch.

There are a few ways that we can word Jesus response to Peter today. Get out of my way! is one interpretation. I am reminded of a saying printed in big letters on a wall at one of the Naval Reserve Centers I drilled at: Lead, follow, or get out of the way! Very clearly, Jesus said to Peter, Get out of my way! My vision is clear, and I am determined to follow it. My vision is of God. Get out of the way! Jesus never had his eyes off of the Father; Jesus vision was clearly clear. It took a while longer for Peters vision to clear up.

Every follower of Jesus Christ has an opportunity to receive clear vision. We just have to make sure that we are wearing the right lenses. The Bible, Gods Word, steers us clearly in the right direction. We are given Spiritual Gifts to use in the building up of Gods Kingdom. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, offer compassion. We are to worship God. We are to pray. We are to be a witness and a testimony for God. How can these visions given directly from the Word of God not be clear? We need to go to Jerusalem, and if anyone says differently, then watch out. Out of my sight, Satan!

On the second Thursday in April, and every second Thursday of every month - at least at the beginning - we are implementing a vision for intercessory prayer and outreach ministries on a church-wide basis. It is clear to every born-again Christian that Scripture calls every believer to prayer. James 5:16 instructs, Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Since prayer is such a prevalent word throughout the entirety of the Bible, should we dare ignore it? Prayer is clearly a ministry for all Christians.

Matthew 28:19-20 is an instruction directly from Jesus, and we know that he has vision. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.

How does this happen if Gods people have no vision for outreach? By outreach, I mean a variety of actions in response to Gods Word. In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus says If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What can outreach include? As I said earlier, feeding the poor and clothing the naked. What about the Volunteer/Mentor program being attempted by the Maconaquah School Corporation to make a difference in the lives of children left to satan? Also, clearly, outreach is sharing the Gospel with one who is lost. It is caring for those who have come to the Lord by helping them grow spiritually. Through our Thursday outreach ministry, we hope to make visits to visitors to our church, new members in the community, our shut-ins, and others. We are limited, I believe, only by our number willing to participate or support the ministries. At any rate, I know that we are following Jesus because he has provided the vision. Jesus is leading; we should be following. But if any of us cannot do that, then expect Jesus to tell us to get out of the way!

This morning, we are sharing Jesus vision through the Lords Supper. We will take the bread and the cup in remembrance of him. What are we to remember? That Jesus body was broken and that Jesus blood was shed for our sake. How do we honor Jesus for his sacrifice? By believing that he died and rose again to cleanse us from sin, and by receiving him into our life - our mind and our heart - as our personal Savior and Lord. If you are in this service this morning, and you have never made that faith commitment, then you are here for a purpose. And that is your purpose. If you leave here this morning without making that commitment, then you are fighting with Gods Spirit, not with me. But if you come to Jesus even now, we would love to celebrate with you your first communion as a born-again Christian.

For those here who are confessing, born-again Christians, use this hymn as your time of preparation to come to the Lords table and as a time to pray that one who is lost comes to know and accept salvation through Jesus Christ, who bled and died for sinners.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Next week, were going to Jerusalem, because thats where Jesus is going to be.

Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
Bunker Hill, Indiana

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