Life – Giving Vision

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:23 — 19.4MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | TuneIn | RSS

How can we encourage vision and joy in people, so they don’t need to explore and pursue sinful pleasure?

Do you experience church as trying to keep the wheels from falling off the wagon, or do you experience church as pursuing an energizing vision, as trying to reach an energizing goal? People who do not have a fulfilling task to do that engages their creative energies will often use their energies to pursue earthly, sinful pleasure. The church is responsible for giving people a fulfilling mission and vision.

What vision or mission do Jesus and the apostles hold before the church of Jesus Christ?

In Matt. 28:18-20, Jesus gives us three missions and two reasons.

1. Go and make disciples, learners of the teacher, Jesus. A disciple is energized by the mission of learning to follow Jesus and helping others follow Jesus.
2. Immerse followers of Jesus in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both within the corporate life of the church and in personal relationships and conversations.
3. Teach disciples to observe the things Jesus has commanded. Arrange opportunities for disciples to experience inner transformation and other obedience.

The reason we are energized as we fulfill these three missions is:

1. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth.
2. Jesus is with us until the end of the age.

In addition to these three missions, Jesus and the apostles hold before the church of Jesus Christ the vision that the church is one family of God, composed of both Jew and Gentile, with Abraham as the spiritual father (Eph. 2:12-17; Rom. 4:3, 9-12).

Also, Christ and the apostles envision a church in which imperfect, broken people are growing into the image of Christ.

Finally, Christ and the apostles envision a church in which believers participate with Christ in the rule of his universe, in the expansion and growth and rule of God’s kingdom.

Applications:

1. All believers belong to this one family, and the mission of every local church is to invite heathen to trust Jesus and enter this one family of God. The mission of every local church is also to offer belonging to people who belong to Christ.
2. When believers share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people, they are inviting people first of all to join God’s worldwide family of faith, not to join their local church, although hopefully, they will.
3. When a person trusts Jesus, they are affirming that Jesus is their Savior and Lord, and this commitment results in people coming to “the obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7).
4. Experiencing “obedience of faith” and growing into the image of Christ are a lifetime process. Believers who experience this themselves or assist others in experiencing this are energized by the process, even if it is hard work.
5. According to Rom. 8 and other Scripture, believers are destined to participate with God in the rule of his new creation, a new heaven and earth world. In this future world, believers will be fully functioning worshipers of God who continue the work God entrusted to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.