Vision 2020

These are some thoughts I gave to Genesis pastors at our appreciation brunch, on vision...

A new year. 2020. My guess is that many are preaching this January on "2020 Vision."

As I drive around the Genesis Conference, I often find myself praying:

“Lord, give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand what your Spirit is saying.”

In addition to seeing new beginnings and new opportunities and fresh starts and God at work…

I also see people who are tired and discouraged.

Ministry can be hard. Particularly in our time and culture.

Lord give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to understand. 

That phrase comes from a few places in the Scripture. 

Isaiah 6. 

The Lord asks 

“Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

9 (The Lord) said, “Go and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;

    make their ears dull

    and close their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

    hear with their ears,

    understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”

I think I’d ask the same thing!

But later in Isaiah, in chapter 32, we find out this blindness and deafness and lack of understanding on the part of the people of God is not forever.

Isaiah 32 

1 See, a king will reign in righteousness…

3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,

    and the ears of those who hear will listen.

4 The fearful heart will know and understand,

    and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.

When the King reigns in righteousness eyes and ears are opened.

Matthew picks up this theme in chapter 13

Jesus tells The Parable of the Sower and concludes, in verse 9, with: 

“Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

…13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;

    they hardly hear with their ears,

    and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

    hear with their ears,

    understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 

17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 

….23..the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

I hold in tension this abundance of multiplication that the Lord promises us in this parable (that some don’t understand), this abundance that makes great "vision casting"... with the challenge of ministry.

I want to encourage my pastors who are discouraged because the journey is long and hard.

And I want to set "big vision" for all of us for the year and years ahead.

But I realize...

Too often when we are looking for 2020 vision…

when we are looking to lead our churches….

when we are discouraged...

our eyes aren’t looking at the right thing. 

Why did the disciples have eyes to see?
Not because they had big dreams for the future.

If you remember, their big dreams were chastised by the Lord.

They had eyes to see…

Because they had eyes to see JESUS.

To see His goodness and grace and character.

They had eyes to see where HE was at work. 

We need encouragement.

But it's not a "rah-rah, you can do this!"

The encouragement you and I need is:

Jesus is good.

Jesus is powerful.

Jesus is already at work ahead of you. Do you believe that?
Jesus wants you to see what work He is doing and get on board.

Jesus wants you to do HIS work, not the work that the loudest complainer in your church wants done. 

Not the work that you THINK you should do.

Jesus wants you to work hard, yes, but on the job HE has for you. 

His yoke is easy and His burden is light. 

His job for you includes time for Sabbath

because we serve a Lord who leads us beside quiet waters and restores our soul.

We need vision.

But the vision isn't our plans.

We need eyes to see how the Lord is already at work in our churches and communities and inviting us along.

As you prepare for this coming year…

Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand

JESUS.

His power.

His might.
His love for you.

His grace towards you.

His passion for you, your church, and your community.

His commitment to the lost in your community and his invitation for you to join Him in that commitment.

It’s in focusing on Jesus, His person, His character, His work, His Word, His ways…

that we gain EYES to see.

I want to let you know how much I appreciate each of you.

The sacrifices you’ve made and are making.

The love that you have for your people.

The love that you have for the Lord.

Thank you.

Happy New Year!