Epigram On Vision
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The poorest man is not he who is without a cent, but he who is without a
dream.
—Pennsylvania School
Journal
•
It is reported that Moody’s farewell words to his sons as he lay upon his
deathbed were, “If God be your partner, make your plans large.”
•
To the Israelites, Goliath is “too big to hit”; but to little David, he is
“too big to miss.”
•
There is a vast difference between a person with a vision and a visionary
person. The person with a vision talks little but does much. The person who is
visionary talks much but does nothing. —M. Dale Baughman[1]
They Saw The Goal
Napoleon saw Italy, but not
the Alps. He had an objective and knew where he was going. Washington saw the
Hessians at Trenton. A man of smaller stature would have seen the Delaware
choked with ice. The majority see
the obstacles; the few see the objectives; history records the successes of
the former while oblivion is the reward of the latter. —Healthways[2]
Shoe Salesman In Africa
Perhaps you heard about the
Yankee shoe salesman who went to Africa and wired his manufacturer, “I want
to come home. Nobody wears shoes in this part of Africa.” So they brought
him home and sent another salesman who shipped back order after order. He
wrote the home office, “Everybody here needs shoes!”[3]
PILGRIMS IMPEACH COUNCIL FOR TOO MUCH VISION
In a "Leadership"
magazine article, Lynn Anderson described what happens when a people lose
their vision. A group of pilgrims landed on the shores of America about 350
years ago. With great vision and courage they had come to settle in the new
land.
In the first year they
established a town.
In the second, they elected a
town council.
In the third, the government
proposed building a road 5 miles westward into the wilderness. But in the
fourth year the people tried to impeach the town council because they thought
such a road into the forest was a waste of public funds. Somehow these
forward-looking people had lost their vision. Once able to see across oceans,
they now could not look 5 miles into the wilderness
Scripture:
Luke 13:6-9, 18-19, 20-21
Luke 13:6 (NIV) Then he told
this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went
to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who
took care of the vineyard, `For three years now I've been coming to look for
fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use
up the soil?' 8 "`Sir,' the man replied, `leave it alone for one more
year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year,
fine! If not, then cut it down.'"Luke 13:18 (NIV) Then Jesus asked,
"What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is
like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and
became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." 20
Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is
like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it
worked all through the dough."
Intro: If
it ain't broke - break it. Jesus
went outside the lines. You say,
but I say. Jesus could see a
picture of a preferred future. Jesus
was a man with a vision.
I. Fig
tree thinking
(Luke 13:6-9)
A.
Vision of what could be - figs on fig trees.
B. Choices:
Cut it down & throw it away or work to make it better -
Improve
it, break it, and Work it.
C.
Vision: Changed lives by -
how can it be better?
II. Mustard
seed gardening
(13:18-19)
A.
Vision: a giant mustard
tree
B.
Resources: A seed and a
garden (Gospel heart)
C.
Need: A gardener with
vision, courage & desire
D.
Requirements: Someone to plant & cultivate. (Prayer, love,
friendliness,
dedication, environment, commitment to wait,
keep
on plowing)
E.
Results: Praise God for
the results.
III. Patient
leavening
(13:20-21)
A.
Vision: to leaven a lot of
meal with just a little leaven
B.
To reach goal: efficiently use what she had.
Let God do the rest.
C.
Requirements: Must be willing to use what she had. Must persist
in
working.
IV. Invitation:
To work to make it better. To
take a risk to plant & cultivate God's garden to use what we have to honor
the Lord. Come to pray for a
vision. Where will you be used by
God to fulfill the vision? The
question isn’t will God use you to fulfill your vision.
The question is will you fulfill God’s vision for you. What is the vision that God has for you?
Are you ready to go to work with the Lord in your life?
Are You Ready To Go
outside the lines.
Go off road for the real fun and excitement in living.
Get some mud on your tires. Dare
to go where you’ve never been to the place where you will find what the Lord
wants for you. So, you’ve never
done that before. Why not now? Why not go with the Lord into the new ground of your
spiritual life. Why not get
involved? Why not become
committed? Why not give yourself
away to the Lord and see what the Lord can do?
This is what the kingdom of God is like.
It is like a man who had a fig tree.
It is like a person who had one mustard seed.
It is like a woman with a little bit of leaven.
What they did with what they had made the difference.
What will you do?
Seeing Other Mountains
Talking with John Dewey
several months before his ninetieth birthday, a young doctor blurted out his
low opinion of philosophy. “What’s the good of such claptrap?” he asked.
“Where does it lead you?” The great philosopher answered quietly, “The
good of it is that you climb mountains.”
“Climb mountains!” retorted the youth, unimpressed. “And what’s
the use of doing that?” “You
see other mountains to climb,” was the reply. “You come down, climb the
next mountain, and see still others to climb.” Then, putting his hand gently
on the young man’s knee, Dewey said, “When you are no longer interested in
climbing mountains to see other mountains to climb, life is over.”
—Maxwell Droke[4]
I’M MAKING PROGRESS AT 80
When he was in his
mid-80’s, the great cellist Pablo Casals kept practicing his instrument for
four or five hours each day. Someone once asked him why, at his age, he still
worked so hard. "Because," he said, "I have a notion that I am
making some progress
[1]Tan,
P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury
of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers
and Christian workers]. Garland TX: Bible Communications.
[2]Tan,
P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury
of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers
and Christian workers]. Garland TX: Bible Communications.
[3]Tan,
P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury
of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers
and Christian workers]. Garland TX: Bible Communications.
[4]Tan,
P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury
of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers
and Christian workers]. Garland TX: Bible Communications.