Double Vision

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

When Robin and I moved our family here from North Carolina we had little more than a dream and the shirt on our back. And the car we drove. We had nothing but our dream and our cars, oh, and our kids. Then the moving truck arrived the next day and we had all our stuff again. Oh yeah, by then I had bought a house so we did have that too. OK, so we had our dream, our car, our minivan, our house, and then all our stuff to fill the house. We had nobody to help us settle in- except Robin’s parents and some other family in the area.

Ok, to recap, we had nothing except a dream, our family, Robin’s family, a house, and all our stuff. Wait, we also had a group of people praying for us an committed to do whatever it took to get a new church started in a growing city. But aside from that, they were tough times for the Saylors. We really didn’t know where our next meal was coming from. Sometimes we’d cook, other times our neighbors brought stuff over, something we’d go out to eat as we explored this strange new city. It was all an adventure!

OK, all joking aside, we came up here with a support system and did a lot of planning and preparation in advance. We had family and friends, prayer and financial support.

But as far as the church is concerned- all we had was a vision. No people, no place, no real plan. Just a vision- to launch a new church in growing city that would draw people far from God into Christian community. As it turns out, having little more than vision and few people standing with you is enough to get a movement started. It’s especially enough if God is behind that dream with that group of people, and if those people learn to depend entirely on God. And you know what- few things, if anything, is as powerful, as compelling, as transforming than God-given vision.

The bible is a book about God of vision filled who filled people with vision. It is a book about movement. Some people move towards God and their calling in life, there they find great things. They find challenges, they suffer, the sacrifice, but they are so compelled to follow their vision that nothing else seems to matter. The bible includes stories about many who don’t move towards God, but away from God. They followed a vision of their own creation, or false visions offered to them by the world.

Story after story, page after page, God works through people to bring about his vision for His relationship with us and His plan for creation- Abram had a vision to to become a nation. Joseph had visions to his greatness and saving the world. Moses had a vision to lead the people out of captivity. David had a vision to build God a temple. Nehemiah had a vision to rebuild Jerusalem. Prophet after prophet had a vision to see the people turn back towards God, to be faithful and to follow him. Jesus, as we spent the last two weeks talking about, had a vision to do his Father’s will, to be the passover lamb and become our atoning sacrifice for sin, to defeat death, to rise to life, and now stands on the hem of heaven waiting to fully inaugurate teh final heavens and the new earth. Vision. It’s all about vision.

One of most quoted verses about vision in our verse today, and the verse guiding our Double Vision ministry plan. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18. (KJV!)

Is it really that extreme? Well, yes. Little known fact about me- I wore glasses from the time I was a kid. I was the kid who never wanted to wear his glasses and kept getting in trouble with the teachers because I couldn’t see the green board (they were always green in my school). My vision was so bad I was one of those folks who had all the little routines to keep from being helpless or killed. At night I’d set my glasses not just on the bedside table- I’d place them on top of the digital clock, because while everything was a complete blur, I could make out the glow of the clock to find my glasses. Honestly, if I had been born in a time without glasses I would have been eaten by a bear or would have fallen off a cliff and died. I didn’t wear bottle cap glasses, I wore bottle cap contact lenses!

Until a few years ago when I made one of the best decisions of my life- lasic eye surgery. Not only will I never forget the morning after the surgery when the first time in over twenty years I did not have to stumble for those glasses, I remember the moment the lasic machine pulled away, and when the doctor told me to blink, I saw the ceiling. I mean I saw it- I saw every little nock and cranny of that drop ceiling tile. It was amazing! I literally saw the world with new eyes. And really, because I wore corrective lenses for so long, I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t have that moment or recognition that I have vision, and I am so grateful. Honestly I’m so grateful I could shout for joy.

My wife who has always had and still has perfect vision (I mean, is there anything about her that isn’t perfect?) has no idea. No idea. And if you haven’t had glasses, or the surgery, you really have no idea what’s it’s like to be given the gift of vision. Vision changes everything.

Without vision, we are in danger of perishing. This is true in the physical realm, but more importantly, it is true in the bigger picture of our lives- we were made to be people of vision, and without vision, without a vision from God, we are lost, we are in the dark, we are in danger of perishing. And some people have been in that dark so long, some people have gone so long without a vision for their lives, they have begun to think that the darkness is their friend. That being lost is normal, or at least, the norm for men and women. But I’m here today to tell you that we need vision.

Vision next to our life in Christ, is everything.

Vision brings direction- you will know where to go and where to focus your energies. If we are going to have direction we need to total vision- we need to be both near sighted and far sighted. We need to understand what lays right in front of us, and we also need to know what lays ahead on the horizon.

We need to see what is right in front of us with clarity. When we have a vision for our lives, the things around us come into focus. WE better understand what is beneficial, and what is not. What is a distraction, and what would send us off track. We will be faced with thousands upon thousands of ads, of decisions, of options, of possibilities. We have so many things, so much right in front of us, that many people experience a kind of vision paralysis. They don’t where to go, what to do, how to make sense of it all. Too much is there. Sensory overload, and vision ceases. But if we have a vision for our lives from God, He will bring those things into focus, and help us to find our path through the maze of life right before our eyes.

We will also find direction because we will be farsighted as well- we will see with clarity the direction of our lives, and nothing helps us through the immediate when we have the perspective of the future as well. Problems wont; seem so big, obstacles won;t seem insurmountable. In fact, with far sighted vision those things will simple become opportunities for us. Direction is everything.

How many guys here don’t stop and ask for directions? Stop being an idiot. Life is too short, and you’re too dumb to figure everything out on your own. Stop and ask for directions, because direction, and moving in the right direction, is everything.

Vision also gives us endurance. It gives us endurance. This ties in directly with the direction part- with vision, with direction, comes amazing endurance. When I go biking, if I know exactly where I’m going and how far it is, it’s amazing how much focus and energy I have, and how fast the time goes by- I’ll crank out 50k and it will feel like nothing because i know exactly where I’m going. But if I’m lost, and I’m constantly thinking about my direction- where am, how close am I, will that road appear up ahead- it’s amazing to me how much energy that suck out of my ride. I’ll be lost for half an hour, and I’ll actually feel more physically spent. Every biker of runner or whatever I talk to has experienced this- the incredible drain of energy of not have a vision, a focus, a direction to follow.

Vision brings peace- peace that passes all understanding. Few people say they have a real vision for their life. Few people describe themselves as peaceful people. Many people openly say they are longing to find peace. Vision brig peace because we are no longer afraid of an unknown future and things lurking in the shadows. We many not know how it’s all gonna go down, but we have peace because we see and understand with clarity.

Vision brings excitement- you will love the life God has called you to. When you have vision, when you know that vision comes out of your relationship and walk with God. When you know God loves and is there with you and will never forsake you- dag- that’s exciting! It’s way better than just riding circles on a bike. When you really get on track with God’s vision for your life- it’s so much bigger, it’s so much better, it has so much more meaning a purpose and blessing for you and for your neighbors and for the world.

Do you see how all of this flows together? When we have vision we understand what’s around us. WE see the horizon. We know our direction. We know our direction, we have endurance. We have endurance, we have peace to know we’re going make the destination. We have peace, we can get on with excitement, with enjoying the adventure.

God has a vision for your life and like a surgeon he is precisely cutting, shaping your vision. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better, but when it comes into focus, it is amazing. There will be moments when we’ll open our eyes, and suddenly everything makes sense. We will see the ceiling tile and the writing on the wall...

God, that’s why you made me this way.
That’s why I like this...
That why I hate that...
This is why that relationship fell apart...
This is why I didn’t get that job...
God made you the way you are because he made you for a vision that is a unique as your likes and dislikes, your joys and disappointments, you experiences, your desires, your abilities, your limitations.

Just as God has a vision for your life, he has a vision for his church. The church is the body of Christ, the bride of Christ. In the end we see that the church is the one eternal thing in this world, as it not so much a thing, but a living, breathing, organic and spiritual reality. Double vision is abotu that place where God's vision for your life, and his vision for his church, intersect. It’s about the truth that God has a plan for you, God has a plan for his church,
and when the too meet- BAM! It can be amazing! It’s exponential It’s synergistic. It’s the place to be!

If you’ve been with Connections from the start you know a lot of our vision and our story already. But many of you, maybe most of you, do not. Connections was born out of a vision in a way that I think has surprised, delighted, humbled and awed everyone who has worked on the inside of this mission.

There is so much I could say about how and why this church got start- nuts and bolts and prayers and hard work. But what I want to say comes from my heart. Few people I’m afraid, I fear, every really follow their vision. many people, perhaps most people, die with a vision bottled up inside of them. They never pursued it, and the pain of not pursing that vision actually ate them up from the inside and plagued them with doubts, fears, regrets. The world was never blessed by them living their vision- a vision that would have changed their family, changed their business, changed their community. I think the saddest thing in the world is a life disconnected from Jesus Christ, and perhaps next to that, the saddest thing, is someone who never embraced, understood, or even attempted to live out of a vision for their life.

I have been given the chance to follow my vision and what I believe is my calling- to build the church. The closest correlation that I can compare it with is being artist or an author who gets a grant to do their art or write their book. And while they are ultimately accountable to the muses of art and literature to judge whether their work stinks, or is inspired, they are functionally free to do their art in any manner they wish. That is what it’s been like for me- while I am accountable to God, this church comes out of my heart, my dream, my vision to make a difference in the world. It’s a vision that many have staked their time, their energies, their talents, their money even.

Now, with a little water under the bridge, I want to talk to you about where this vision is going, and how we hope you’ll be a part....

Read the Double Vision ministry plan at my blog, georgesaylor.blogspot.com