18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
—The words of King Solomon from Proverbs 29:18
Over 50 years ago, a traveling evangelist preached a sermon at my home church. He used the passage of Scripture at the beginning of this blog post as his text.
In the course of the sermon, he told the story of a traveling salesman who crisscrossed the United States by train during World War II. The salesman especially enjoyed picking out certain landmarks as he traveled from one town to the next.
Over the many months of travel, as his train would approach a particular town in the Midwest, he would note a large church on the outskirts of downtown. The church had a rather huge sign on the front of the church that read:
Where there is no vision |
Since the timetable of the particular route placed the train passing by the church at 10:50 on a Sunday morning, the salesman would often observe a large crowd of people streaming into the church. It always brought a smile to his face and reminded him of the days when he had a more carefree life and could attend church with his family.
But then, after nearly a year of traveling other routes, the salesman found himself on the train that would pass by his favorite church. He anticipated, with some eagerness, the opportunity to view this thriving place. But, as the train passed by the church, the salesman noted only a small handful of people entering the door to worship. Surprised at the meager attendance, he then spotted the sign he always looked for with such anticipation. The letter “W” had fallen off the sign so that it now read:
here there is no vision |
As that traveling preacher of 50 years ago concluded his sermon in my home church, he noted that the word “vision” in the Scripture passage he used for his text—the one at the beginning of this blog post— means “revelation.” The vision was not some plan for the future, some far distant goal. Rather, the vision was the revelation provided by God through His Word, the Bible, as illumined by the power of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of those who studied the Word.
“Where the people of God do not listen for His voice, do not follow the pathway He has laid out before them, do not strive for obedience to His will and to His Word, the church will surely perish. Oh, it may continue to exist. But, it will sink into complacency, ineffectiveness, and utter failure, insofar as accomplishing anything for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.”
Looking back on that sermon, oh so many years ago, I realize, now more than ever before, how much truth that visiting evangelist packed into his message. We must seek God’s will through the intentional and devoted study of His Word. We must pray that the Holy Spirit will make the truth of Scripture come alive in our hearts and minds. For without God’s revelation—His vision—we will perish in our efforts to truly be the body of Christ.
It seems appropriate, therefore, from time to time to ask ourselves this question:
That’s right: “Where are we going?” Not in the sense of developing a human-oriented vision statement. Rather, we must ask ourselves whether or not we have discovered, through the reading of God’s Word, what He wants His church to do in this world. Have we come into congruence with His plan for His Kingdom work in this world.
Once we discover what God intends to do through His body, the church, we then must proceed to fall into line with His intention and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to doing the work of the Kingdom of God here on earth.
His vision must become our vision. His work, our work. His plan, our plan.
Instead of deciding what we want to do—feel most comfortable doing—on behalf of Christ and then praying that He will bless our self-selected tasks, we must discover what Christ wants to do in this world and then set about doing it.
The answer to the question: “Where are we going?” comes from the study of God’s Word, from much prayer, and from turning a careful ear to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.
One of my most favorite television programs is Sports Night. It only lasted two seasons on ABC from 1998 through 2000. This was a groundbreaking television show written by Aaron Sorkin. Many of the unique filming techniques that later made Sorkin’s The West Wing so popular were developed in the filming of Sports Night.
At the end of the second and last season, the fictional television network that hosts the fictional show, “Sports Night,” is being brokered to several potential buyers. The fate of the program seems very uncertain. Most employees expect the new owner to close down the program, thus causing them to lose their jobs.
Into this state of doom comes a quiet, unknown man—“Calvin Trager” played by Clark Gregg—who begins to have a series of conversations at a nearby bar about the bidding war for the network with the show’s producer, “Dana Whitaker”—played by Felicity Huffman. He makes a number of predictions about the sale of the network, which one-by-one come true.
In the final scene of the series, the stranger offers Dana some sage advice based on his own business career that brings the storyline and the series to a glorious, hope-filled conclusion.
Wondering how to ensure that your church truly operates as the body of Christ doing His work in this world, His way, according to His plan? Get your team together and ask God to show you the answer to the question: “Quo Vadimus—Where are we going?”
Will you please pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
Precious Father, we turn to You and ask, “Where are we going?” We do this because we know that the only One who knows where we should go is You.
In Your mercy and great grace, Father, be pleased to show us the pathway You have laid out for us, as individuals, and also for the body of Christ, the church. We look around us and have a strong sense that somewhere we have wandered off the pathway that You gave us. In that way that is uniquely Your own, please gently nudge us back on the right path.
In our churches, we want to experience the fullness of joy that comes from knowing that we are doing the work of the Kingdom of God. This is Your work, Your Kingdom work. We are humbled that You have chosen to make us a part of Your work in this world. Now, please help us to seek Your will through Your Word and through the leading of Your Holy Spirit. We want to serve You with all of our hearts. We want to advance Your Kingdom, not our own.
Thank You for the leading and guiding that You freely give us. Thank You for making us a part of Your Kingdom. Thank You for allowing us to be useful in accomplishing Your Kingdom vision for this world. And, thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Your Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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