Proverbs 29:18(KJV) 18Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
What is a local church? For many denominational Christians it is a place to practice the religion of their forefathers. In other words, it is a place for Methodists to go to be Methodists, Catholics to go to be Catholics, Baptists to be Baptists and even Pentecostals to be Pentecostals. However, that is not what Jesus died to establish. Jesus founded the universal church for one purpose. It exists to extend the Kingdom of God in the earth. The local church exists for the same purpose, to extend the Kingdom of God within a city or region. Any other purpose falls short of God’s call upon the church.
When I was a young Christian, we learned that God wanted to reveal his purpose for our lives. This was an exciting thing and we latched onto a term that summed up this idea. That term was vision. We were all seeking a vision from God for who and what we were. There is nothing wrong with that. God wants to reveal his purpose for your life. The problem arose when we began to take possession of the “vision.” We soon found out that when there are many “visions” trying to occupy the same space, we end up with di-vision instead of agreement. God has a plan for your life, but no one can accomplish that plan in a vacuum. It takes relationship and coordination to fulfill the vision God has for your life.
A local church should be a place where the vision God has for the individual is joined with other individual visions so that together we may work together to extend the Kingdom of God to our area and ultimately to the world. In order to accomplish that, God calls a group of people together and molds the individual visions into a force that can impact the community in which they live. We call that the Local Church Vision.
I believe that a local church is a living thing. God brings local churches to birth so that they can fulfill a part in extending the Kingdom to that local area. No local church has the whole “vision” for any region. There are too many people and too many different kinds of people for one church to think they can be the church for the city or region where they exist. There will be many churches in a region, each one with a vision that represents the part God intends for them to play in extending the Kingdom of God in that place. There may be more than one church called to do the same thing depending on the size of the area. There may be churches that focus on different kinds of people or different parts of the city. Each church that God has established has a part to play if we are going to win the city for Jesus.
God creates each person with a plan for their life. I believe God creates each church with a plan or vision for their life. That vision may change somewhat over time. As the church grows and matures it will more fully reflect the purpose God has for it, but I believe the basic vision remains. As a church lives on it is important to look back occasionally and remember what God’s purpose for the church was and how we are doing in fulfilling it. If we forget the vision entirely, we will fail to be what God needs us to be. Many churches that have existed for a long time have forgotten the purpose God created them to fill. When that happens, the church is just a religious organization that exists to sustain itself and not extend the Kingdom of God. Lord help us never to be in that place!
I am going to take some time this week to share with you the vision God gave to Living Word Christian Center in 1987. Although you may be a part of a church with a slightly different vision, I believe that seeing how this concept works for us can help you relate in your local church and to you local vision. If you are a pastor of leader of a local church, I hope this will help you go before the Lord and hear from him why your church exists and what its part in the plan for extending the Kingdom of God in your area might be. Remember, we are not alone in our area. God has established many local expressions of the body of Christ to fulfill many aspects of the job at hand. We are not in competition. The vision is not really yours. It is God’s vision for the world. What he reveals to any church is their part in the plan, but the vision remains the Lords.
Before we begin with the specifics of our vision, let me point out some things about today’s scripture. The New King James says that when there is no vision “the people go unrestrained.” The original King James Version says the people perish if they have no vision. I believe both versions taken together give us a clear picture of what God is telling us.
Where there is no vision, no direction given from God, the people go unrestrained. They will do whatever they find to do, but there is no direction or coordination. There is no ability for the myriad gifts God gives to work together in order to accomplish a goal. When that happens, they “perish” as a people. They have no impact. They may meet in one place, but they are not an effective force for the Kingdom.
If you are part of a local church, find out what the vision of the church is. Ask the leadership about it. Then ask the Lord how your personal vision fits with the church vision. Remember, the church vision does not have to fit with your vision. If God calls you to a church, your vision must fit with the whole. If there are modifications to be made, the individual must make them. This only makes sense, as the church vision could not change to accommodate every individual within it.
I have played on many sports teams. Each player has strengths and weaknesses. Each player has things they like to do and things they may not like so much. However, if the team is going to be successful, each player must be willing to adjust to meet the needs of the team. In baseball, for instance, not everyone can be a pitcher. However, if you are a pitcher you may have to willing to work as a relief pitcher instead of a starter. A reliever does not get as much acclaim as the starter. He may not make as much money as the starter. He may have been a starting pitcher his whole life, but if that team needs a reliever to win; he must be willing to take that role.
God, through the church leadership, will not ask you to do something you cannot do, however he may ask you to work within your abilities in a role that may be uncomfortable or that you may not desire. He may even ask you to do something you think is outside your abilities, but remember, he created you so he knows what is ahead for you and the thing you are asked to do may be preparing you for the next step. The important thing is that the whole team accomplishes the call God has on it. If we do that, we will find our place and be fulfilled.
If you are part of a church that has no vision except to sustain itself, maybe you should ask yourself if that is where you belong. If you are a born again, spirit filled believer, you need to be in a place that will help you grow in your relationship with the Lord and where you can ultimately fulfill the call God has on your life. No church is perfect and you may find that the church you are a part of is struggling to walk in the vision God has given. That is not a reason to leave. That is a reason to get more involved and help bring about the local church vision. However, if there is no vision at all, the people, you included, will perish as a force for God in the earth.
Tomorrow I will begin to share our specific vision. Today, ask yourself, “Am I part of a vision from God? What is it God wants me to do within that vision? How can I fulfill my calling by helping my church fulfill its calling?” These are important questions and each believer needs to answer them. We live in an important time in the history of the church and of the earth itself. God needs each one of us to fill our role on his team, both local and universal, so the will of God can be done in our day.
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