We used to see it on bumper stickers and plaques, “Christ is the answer.” Of course the critic asks, “What’s the question?” You know the truth, don’t you. It really doesn’t matter what the question is: the Lord Jesus is the answer!
One thing is for sure. We all need a better vision of the Lord as the glorious answer to every need–to gain a greater understanding of who the Lord is, and who we are, and His call upon our life both individually and collectively in our assemblies.
Our motives need to be challenged, the direction of our lives need to be focussed on the important issues of eternity. I believe that we could unanimously say that we need to catch a fresh vision. Notice Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” When we talk about catching the vision, we are confronted with information given to us from the Word of God. As it filters through us, we get to understand something about the needs around us, evaluating and accessing these needs in the light of God’s truth.
There comes a time, however, when you have to get up, when you have to look beyond the valley, over the ridge, and ask if there is some way to meet those needs. Is there a plan, is there a way?
“Where there is no vision,” relates to the revelation of God. We could put it like this perhaps, “Where there is no revelation from God, the people perish; where there is no direction from heaven, the people perish.” Amos 8:11 states: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” To people that don’t want the Word, people that don’t want the vision, God says, “I have sent it to you time and time again; you refuse it; now I’ll send a famine.”
I could not help but think, when I read that passage, of the desperate condition in Christendom today. No wonder Paul exhorted Timothy, in light of the need of the hour, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:1-2).
I would like us to consider our need for a fresh vision–not extra-biblical revelation, because God has given us everything in His Word that we need to be thoroughly furnished unto every good work.
First, I believe that we need to catch a fresh vision of the doctrine of sin. When was the last time you heard someone preach on it? We don’t like to talk about it, we don’t like to call it what it is. We don’t like to think about its consequences. We modify it, we powder it up and perfume it; we justify it and camouflage it and say it’s not really that bad anymore.
What I want to say is this: sin divides you from fellowship with God, sin destroys, sin devastates, sin separates for a Christless eternity. 1 Corinthians 6:9 states, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?” Before our conversion sin separated us from God. After we become Christians, it still separates us–from the blessing of God; not our relationship, but our fellowship.
Now here’s a searching question for you: When is the last time as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you wept over sin in your life? As James writes: “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (Jas. 4:9-10). Own up to it, says James, let it hurt. You see what it cost heaven, don’t you?
But God doesn’t leave us there. “Where sin abounded,” what did grace do? It sent the lovely Lord Jesus, it super-abounded. If we need a fresh vision of sin, we also need a fresh vision of the Saviour–the altogether lovely One, the One now seated at the right hand of God. Why did He come? His Name shall be called Jesus, declared the angel, “for He shall save His people from their sins.” That’s the reason He came. How we need a fresh vision of the Saviour! He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. God has entered into the greatest exchange program this world has ever seen. Jesus Christ takes our sin and gives us His righteousness in return.
We also need a fresh vision of salvation that He alone orchestrated. One of the strongest curses pronounced in the Scriptures falls on the person who mishandles the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible would tell us that the true gospel includes the death, burial and resurrection. It includes repentance and faith. It preaches both the wrath and the love of God.
How we need a fresh passion for the old gospel. A gospel with power, a gospel that preaches the consequences of sin, that presents the lovely Saviour who came to die for sinners, to be buried, to rise again the third day, to ascend into heaven, and one day return for those who trust Him.
Much of that passion comes from a fresh appreciation of our own salvation. When was the last time you thanked Him for saving you? You remember the story in Luke 7:36. The Lord went to the house of a Pharisee where a woman came in. The Pharisee knew what kind of woman she was. He thought, “If the Lord lets this woman touch Him, He is no prophet. If He were a prophet, wouldn’t He know it?” Our Lord corrects the Pharisee in verse 44. He says to Simon, “Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet, but she washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest Me no kiss, but this woman since the time that I came in has not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman has anointed My feet with ointment, wherefore I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven the same loveth little.”
Here’s the point. Your love for the Lord Jesus Christ is directly related to how much you reckon you have been forgiven. Can I tell you that every one of us was in a horrible pit, in the miry clay. By the grace of God He took us out of the pit, He set us on a solid Rock, He established our going, He put a song in our mouths, He saved us from a devil’s hell. Evaluate your own salvation, brothers and sisters. Remember how much you owe Him.
What happened to them in Laodicea? They forgot. They left their first love, they forgot how God saved them. How many of us were thrilled when we were first saved. We couldn’t be quiet, we had to tell somebody, we were caught up with Him, He consumed our thoughts. God help us to repent and return if such is our case. Let’s be honest with Him.
We also need a fresh vision of the Word of God, God’s Book–a marked road map for my pilgrim journey. God’s mind at my fingertips, a hammer to break the rock in pieces, a sword that discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart, the means whereby I can be transformed into the image of Christ.
The Word of God is my diet, my sole authority both in doctrine and in practice, my provision to be thoroughly furnished to every good work. Did you read it today? We are to read it, study it, memorize it, preach it, and live it! Do you need a fresh vision of it? Perhaps its become dull and dry and empty. Why don’t you get on your knees and pray, Oh, God, make it living to me again, make it real to me again. Give me a new vision, a hunger for the Word of God again. Oh, God, I need it!
We need a fresh vision of the church. The Lord Jesus said, “I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Somehow in our minds we think, The Church is just holding on. No, that’s not the picture. The Church is assaulting the gates of hell. Have you seen this mighty army? God has a program. The Lord Jesus Christ is building the Church; He is developing the Body, and He is preparing the Bride. It is His work.
We also need a fresh vision of the local church. Revelation 3:7 states, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name.”
You might say, “We’re just a few, we’re frail, we’re weak.” That’s what they were. Notice it says they had a little strength, but they kept the Word and didn’t deny the Name. God set before them an open door, because they had kept His Word. That’s the criteria. They were saturated with the Word of God, they were dedicated to the Son of God, therefore they were activated by the Spirit of God to do the work of God.
Lastly, we need a fresh vision of the coming of our Lord. As sure as He came to Bethlehem, He’s coming again. This may be the last message that I will ever preach, maybe the last message you will ever hear. He may come tonight.
Don’t be caught up in the things that don’t matter. Only two things God will salvage when He comes–His people and His Word. Make sure that you invest in things for eternity. Are you beginning to catch the vision? The needs are great, His resources are available and inexhaustible. Catch that vision by the grace of God!