Compelling Vision

I'd like to read today from Luke chapter 8, verses 4 through 15. And when a great crowd came together, and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trodden underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured them.

And some fell on a rock, and as it grew up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil, and grew and yielded a hundredfold.

As he said this, he called out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. But for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

Now the parable is this. The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard.

Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root.

They believe for a while, and in time of temptation, fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear. But as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and pleasures and riches of life.

And their fruit does not mature. And as for that on the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience. And from this we see that only a fraction of the people who hear the word hold on to it long enough, follow it far enough, in order to bring forth fruit.

Vast numbers of people respond to the word with what appears to be faith. But in time that faith either dies or gets choked out by other things. Only a fraction of the people who hear the word ignite into the kind of blazing faith that can't be quenched by trial or choked by the cares and the riches and the pleasures of life.

So who are these people who have the kind of driving faith that keeps them going far enough that they actually come to the place where they indeed bear fruit, who can't be sidetracked, who don't get discouraged, who don't become bitter, who don't burn out. They keep right on going. Nothing seems to be able to choke it out.

They are the people whose eyes have been opened to see God. People who have in some way received a compelling vision that keeps driving them on. A vision so clear that all other blessings and goods of this world are pale by comparison and they hang to this one clear good thing.

Vision. The man who finds treasure hidden in the field and then covers it up and sells everything he has to buy the field is, see, driven by vision. He's seen the treasure.

When we see the treasure, really see it, how can anything in this world ever satisfy us again? Consider Abraham. Abraham hears a call from God. He is told to leave his country, his kindred, his father's house and go to a land which God promises to show him.

And Abraham leaves on the strength of a word spoken. He hasn't seen any visions, seen anything supernatural. He just goes on the strength of that word.

When he gets to Canaan, the Lord appears to him. Now he has vision. Now he sees and he builds an altar and offers his life back as a sacrifice to God.

From Genesis 12. Then the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to your descendants, I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him.

And it's at this point and from this point on in Abraham's life, as you read it through Genesis 12 and following chapters that now he has vision. He sees and it's a compelling vision that keeps driving him on in the purpose of God the rest of his life. Blessed are the pure at heart for they shall see God.

Consider Peter. One morning Peter's washing his neck. Along comes Jesus surrounded by throngs of people.

May I teach the people from your boat, Peter? Peter gets in and rows the boat out short distance from the land so Jesus can teach. Keeps it steady while Jesus is teaching. While Peter listens to this teaching, the word that Peter hears becomes more and more personal until finally Jesus turns around looks him in the eye and says, now put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

Master, we've toiled all night and taken nothing. Nevertheless, it's your word. I'll let down the nets.

The nets come up loaded and in this sign of the nets that are loaded, the fish swamping Peter's boat almost to the point where it sinks in this sign, Peter sees God. Depart from me for I'm a sinful man, O Lord. Don't be afraid.

From now on, you're going to be catching men. And when they brought their boats to land, they forsook everything and followed him. See, now in this sign of the fish through which Jesus manifests himself to Peter as Lord, Peter's eyes open.

He receives vision, compelling vision that drives him forward in the purpose of God the rest of his life. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Consider Saul of Tarsus who becomes the apostle Paul from Acts chapter 9. But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus so that if he found any men or women, he might bring them bound in chains to Jerusalem.

Now as he journeyed, he approached Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goals. Trembling and astonished, what can I do? And he answered, rise and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do.

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul arose from the ground and when his eyes were opened he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus and for three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.

Saul's been going violently without really understanding what he's doing but the instant Saul hears a call from Jesus he stops, turns and yields himself totally. For three days all the lights are out. Then his eyes are opened again.

So Ananias departed and entered the house and laying his hands on him he said, brother Saul, Jesus, the Lord who appeared to you on the road let me regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight and he rose and was baptized and took food and was strengthened. And from that point on, from the point where the scales fall from Saul's eyes and he sees again and he's filled with the Holy Spirit he has vision, compelling vision that drives him on in the purpose of God for the rest of his life.

Now the question we need to ask as we think of our own lives is who can make it through the storms and the confusion and the dry places of this world without that driving vision? If we don't somehow see God and see himself so clearly that the other things of our lives begin to dull by comparison if we don't have that we're bound to be sidetracked and to be choked by the cares and the riches and the pleasures of life. Now the vision I'm talking about is not vision that we see by means of these eyes but an inner vision a light that comes on inside and burns so that we now are able to see the hand of God moving in the midst of the absurdity of this life. Now Jesus promises that we are to have that vision.

Every child of God is to have that vision. I am the light of the world he says. He who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life meaning inner vision.

He will see, he will see they will have vision. Abraham followed the call until the light came on for him. Peter heard the call answered it and the light came on for him.

But many of us for many of us were dangling somewhere between hearing the call and seeing the vision. We know that in some way God has called us that his call is on our lives we've heard him some way and yet we're still stumbling around in the dark. We can't handle trials.

We're forever being sucked in by the cares and the riches and the pleasure of our lives. Somehow we have to be able to press on through to the place where God appears to us like he appeared to Abraham. We see him and we build an altar to him and we offer our lives back to him as a living sacrifice and our hearts catch fire and we just shove out of the way all the things that have been hindering and distracting us and we move forward in God's purpose driven by the light of a compelling vision.

So how do we get to the place where God appears to us and we see him and we can build that altar? By acting on a word which we already have heard by acting on that word with a pure heart by doing it. Really the only difference between Abraham and us is that Abraham when he was called left Haran and went to Canaan where we in many, many respects are still dangling around the outskirts of Haran which never seem to quite pull ourselves away. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

What does it mean to be pure in heart? To be pure in heart means that you leave Haran and you go to Canaan. To be pure in heart means to be single minded. To be almost having a one track mind.

To be so caught up and so obsessed with seeing what God wants us to do. So, so earnestly hungry for knowing and doing that will of his that we push other things aside we do whatever we have to do. Whatever it is.

Now it doesn't take a hundred years to become single minded. Pure in heart. There was a critical moment in the life of Abraham when Abraham says to himself let's go and starts packing his things and at that moment Abraham begins to become pure in heart.

For Peter it was when he said nevertheless at your word I'll let down the nets and for us that critical moment is the point at which we give up our reservations and say I will follow you Lord and we go. Up to now most of us if not all of us are still busy trying to say goodbye to our friends. Trying to take our leave.

Trying to work through these reservations we have. Lord work a deal with them. I will follow you Lord but why can't I take my cat along? Or my husband you know my wife might not fully understand this.

I tend quite often to run a bit late that won't get in the way will it? I have this hobby I mean it's a minor thing but it means a lot to me Lord. I'm accustomed to a certain lifestyle surely you won't interfere with that Lord. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Do we really want Him above all things even if it means for us the loss of all things? Now notice Abraham didn't get division the first hour after he left Heron. I mean Abraham had to travel hundreds of miles on foot no doubt. From Heron till he got to Canaan before the division came.

But the instant Abraham began to move he knew deep inside himself that it was only a matter of time. He knew the division was on its way. And the minute we begin to take the crucial step of giving up our reservations putting ourselves totally in the hands of Jesus to let it go His way now instead of our own the minute we do that we are on our way.

Somehow as we once we make that just that just that we begin become conscious of the fact that we may not have the vision now but it's going to come nothing's going to get away in the way of that vision will happen. So the issue for us today is just that. Am I willing to do what Abraham did to do what Peter did to do what Paul did to just give up the reservations and start moving not to let go of the things that I'm still hanging on to and say here it is Lord.

When we do that it's only a matter of time until our eyes open and we will see God. And we will have a compelling vision that will drive us on in the purpose of God for the rest of our lives. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Let's take that step toward Him right now. Come on let's get in some prayer. Just asking Lord God that you would help us to do whatever we have to do whatever we have to do to just pry ourselves loose from the cement that we've been anchored in.

We have all the doctrines right. We have so many things clear in our minds and nothing's happening. Help us Lord God to make that commitment to make that start to take that step to cut that chain to burn that bridge to swallow our pride.