We learned in a short video at the end of last week’s message that … ‘Spiritual Vision is our ability to see what God wants us to do’ … and, I might add, to be who God is calling us to be! And this week, we’re going to look deeper into God’s vision for us at Grace UMC/Dodgeville UMC…
Michelangelo, the great painter and sculptor, was once asked how he was able to create such masterpieces. His answer went something like this: “I am not sure how it works exactly, but I am able to see the vision of the beautiful statue in the marble … even before it is extracted from the quarry. You see, once I catch the vision, the rest is very simple. I just chip away what does not belong.”
That is the great promise of God’s wonderful vision for us! Once we catch it, we are never the same. I’ve witnessed it in my own life, as well as in the lives of others. Folks, with God’s vision encouraging us…
We’re never to give up…
We’re to constantly pursue God & his plan for our lives…
We’re to always use our gifts to his glory… and then we’ll soon discover an unrivaled sense of fulfillment in each of our lives!
Today’s message is a reminder of the vision God has given us—God’s preferred future for us—what we’re to be about, but even more … who we are to be. Let me share with you some words of Jesus I believe God wants us all to take personally. When asked which was the greatest commandment of the Law, here’s how Jesus answered (Matt. 22:34-40)…
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:34-40 (NLT)
Then, back in Chapter 20, Jesus had just encountered James and John, along with their mother, trying to make sure they had one up on everyone else when it came time for Jesus’ kingdom—one on his left, and one on his right. You can just imagine this didn’t go over well with the other disciples. Well, here’s what happened:
When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:24-28 (NLT)
So, this is the GREAT COMMANDMENT, along with its application. And I believe—with all my heart—that this is the very vision of what God wants to see right here! So…
WHAT IF … WE WERE A CHURCH WHO ‘LOVED GOD’? Here’re the words of Jesus’ again, from Verse 37: “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’” So, what would that look like … if we loved God ‘with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind?’ First, I firmly believe … we would sing like never before (a sign of worship health)! The psalmist puts it this way (Ps. 9:2, NLT): “I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.” Do we sing when we come into worship because of the JOY of God’s presence in our lives … or does that even cross our minds? John Wesley takes a more practical approach to our singing … and for good reason…
Wesley, the founder of Methodism, recognized that how we sing is a direct reflection of how we love God! Turn to page #vii (Roman numeral #7) in your hymnal—just a few pages in from the front. Here you can see that Wesley was very intentional when it came to his Methodists singing in worship. Let me highlight these for you…
- Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please. (It was about the theology of the song—what they learned about God…)
- Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can. (Sometimes we need to ‘unlearn’ old habits before learning new ones… The main concern was: How could they do it best … together?)
- Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find a blessing.
- Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.
- Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
- Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing too slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
- Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven. – From John Wesley’s Select Hymns, 1761
Why so intentional? Because Wesley knew that the singing done in worship was a direct reflection of the people’s love for God! Were they there for the right reasons? And does our singing reflect this love—this relationship
So, what else would it look like if we loved God ‘with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind?’ I believe … we would listen like never before (with application)! In Colossians 3:16 (MSG), Paul encourages the Colossian church with this: “Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God!” Here’s how we’re to receive God’s word, when we read it, when we hear it preached, and when someone is teaching from God’s word:
Let it have free reign in your life; you can always trust the word of God!
Give it plenty of room to grow in you—making room (or time) for it in your life!
Let God’s word be a guide for you in your life (and in our lives together)!
We’d listen like never before, making sure we applied all we learned … and then we’d sing! Are we there yet? (Today’s NEXT STEPS will help you answer that!)
Then, if we were a church who truly loved God, I believe … we would give like never before! Folks, never forget Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 6:21 (KJV): “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Sometimes we forget that our giving … is a vital part of our worship of God—our LOVING GOD! And when we forget … then we neglect—not that we mean to, but it’s part of our human condition. So, what does the location of your treasure say about your love for God? As one evangelist used to say, “Show me your checkbook … and I’ll give you the answer.” It’s not just a record of your finances; it’s a record of your heart! There it is in a nutshell…
So, what if … we were a church who truly loved God? Things would look quite different in our day-to-day lives; that’s for sure. So, what about the rest of God’s vision for us?
WHAT IF … WE WERE A CHURCH WHO ‘LOVED PEOPLE’? Verse 39, again, reads this way, as Jesus tells the Pharisees: “A second [law] is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” If we were a church who truly ‘loved people,’ we’d live our everyday, walking around lives (as Eugene Peterson puts it) like never before! We talked about this a couple weeks ago in the park, but let me remind you…
Sometimes we think of loving others as the ‘fellowship’ part of church and it is, but it’s so much more! It’s deeper than what goes on in the Fellowship Hall. We’ve learned from the Early Church that ‘fellowship’ (koinonia) is more than a handshake, a cup of coffee, and a bagel in the Fellowship Hall! It’s truly about sharing life together… Am I caring for you in our everyday lives? Are you caring for me in our everyday lives? And when we say ‘I’m there for you,’ do we mean it? Truly mean it?
So, what would it look like if we were a church who truly loved people—one another? It would look like the Early Church’s ‘koinonia’… Remember Acts 2:42-47 (NLT), where Luke describes what was going on…
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
It’s this kind of ‘koinonia’ we’re after, when it’s God’s vision of ‘loving people’! Finally…
WHAT IF … WE WERE A CHURCH WHO ‘SERVED GOD BY SERVING OTHERS’? Jesus’ words again from Matthew 20:26b-28 tell us: “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” All the LOVE we have for God and for one another … would be lived out daily in service to others—random acts of kindness all over the place! And God’s vision—which we receive only through obedience—will cause us to do great things! Craig Brown covered this in late July when he talked about the summer mission trips…
What if every day was like a mission trip? It’s been said … ‘Perhaps the most powerful aspect of vision is that it changes your way of thinking, which in turn changes the way you live.’ Here’re some examples…
A mother endures the labor pains of childbirth because the vision of that newborn baby sustains her…
A 4-year-old endures the struggle to be a very, very good child for just another two weeks because they’re motivated by a vision of presents under the tree…
Jesus endured the cross because of his vision – “Because of the joy awaiting him.” (Heb. 12:2, NLT)…
Vision, folks, can change your life! It can make you live and serve as if every day were a mission trip! LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE, SERVE GOD BY SERVING OTHERS. Let it drive your everyday, walking around life! And let’s obey God’s word as the writer of Hebrews instructs (12:2, NIV): “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Let God’s vision for what he wants us to do—who God is calling us to be … motivate you to do great things! LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE, SERVE GOD BY SERVING OTHERS… Let’s live it … together!