WHERE THERE IS NO VISION
"Where there is no vision, the people perish..." (Proverbs 29:18).
"And the word of
the Lord was precious
[valuable, prized, and rare] in those
days: there was no open vision."
(1 Samuel 3:1).
It
is important that we, the people of God, maintain a clear vision of God’s will
and of His plan for us. Without it we
are like the blind, groping along the wall, and trying to feel our way through
the issues of life. Without a clear
vision, we find it difficult to discern the will of God in our personal lives,
and we often find ourselves stumbling in our efforts to please Him.
The
type of vision that Solomon is referring to in Proverbs is not just the seeing
of the eyes. It is a revelation of the
prophetic word, a divine communication, and clearness of sight when we walk
through dark places.
In
the first book of Samuel, we read of a time when the people of God had lost
their vision. From the beginning, God
had given the children of Israel clear instructions of what He expected from
them. As they strayed from the Lord and
His ways, however, their vision became cloudy.
The people did what was right in their own eyes with little or no regard
for what God had commanded. From long
before Samuel's day, the people had left God's precepts and abandoned His laws,
choosing to mix idol worship with their worship of God. Since the time of the judges who oversaw
Israel, the people had turned away from seeking God, and turned to their own
ways. God delivered them many times
through a judge or a deliverer whom He would raise up, and the people would
seek and serve the Lord all the days of that leader. When that godly judge would die, the people
would abandon God and quickly turn to idols again.
Israel
had a form of godliness to be sure. The
tabernacle which God had instructed them to raise in the wilderness under Moses
was still among them, and it rested in Shiloh.
They worshipped there, brought their sacrifices and offerings to present
before the Lord, and the priests still performed their duties in the
tabernacle. On the surface it all looked
good, ordered, and in accordance with God's word. Yet, for all their form, they had forsaken
the laws of God and walked in corrupt paths.
They worshipped idols in the form of Ashtoroth and Baalim - the same
idols that the nations around them worshipped.
They intermarried with the heathen peoples and became unequally yoked
with those who had never known God. They adopted those nations' customs and
gave themselves to their practices.
Their hearts were led astray.
Among the priests and those who taught the law there were those who were
corrupt, using their office for their own gain and self-satisfaction.
Eli,
the high priest at that time, had two sons which the Bible refers to as "sons of Belial," meaning
worthless, reckless, and lawless. They "knew not the Lord." Scripture says they committed fornication
with the women who gathered at the door of the tabernacle. They also violated the law by taking meat
offerings from those who came to offer sacrifices to the Lord. They demanded the choice cuts of meat before
the sacrifice was even offered to God - sometimes even threatening to take it
by force if the worshippers refused.
They were literally taking the best of the offerings for themselves,
thereby serving themselves even before God was served. "Wherefore,
the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord." (1
Samuel 2:17).
"Now all these
things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world
are come."
(1 Corinthians 10:11). As conditions
were among God's people in Samuel's day, so we find them today. There are many “sons of Belial” among religious leaders today. They are self-serving and disobedient to the
laws of God and to sound doctrine. As in
Samuel's day, a great number of today's "priests" are unfaithful to
the position they hold. They use their
office for self-gain, for power and for position. We have received letters from many preachers
and evangelists, all of them pleading for money. They appeal to the conscience and use
psychology to try to make a person feel unfaithful to God for not giving to
their "great work for God." Of the sacrifices that the children of God
send to them, they take what they want for themselves before applying the rest
to the “work of God.” If God were truly
behind their work, they would not have to beg for support - God would supply
their needs and see that the work continued.
Too often these great preachers are only feathering their own nests with
the offerings that come in.
"Wherefore the sin of the young men was
very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord."
No wonder that even many unbelievers have nothing good to say about
these so-called men of God.
We
were once invited to a church by a fellow Christian. He said there was a wonderful preacher there
who had taken over the church, and the Spirit of the Lord was moving mightily
there in gifts and healings. Not being
one to run to and fro, I declined the invitation for quite some time. As he kept persisting, however, we finally
went. We were not at all impressed by
what we saw and heard. In fact, we
couldn't agree with what was preached that night at all. We noticed one woman in particular who seemed
to have the gift of prophecy. She would
go to the altar and minister to the ones who came forward for prayer. Such beautiful words of prophecy came from
her mouth. However, we felt very uneasy
about all that we saw and heard. Not
long after that, the same brother who had invited us told me of a big split in
the church. It seems the preacher was
having an affair with the prophetess, and it was all exposed to the
church. Sure reminds me of Eli's
sons! They knew a lot about God, but they "knew not the Lord." "Forasmuch as this people draw near me
with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart
far from me…" (Isaiah 29:13).
Oh, how we need a vision today to see what God requires of His people!
Can
you discern the times we're living in?
The Apostle Paul called them “perilous times,” and described them in no
uncertain terms. He said, “This know also, that in the last days
perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded,
lovers of pleasures more than lovers
of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from
such turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
Rather than dying to self, many are lovers of themselves. Rather than being thankful for the many
things which God has given, they are covetous and greedy for more and more -
complainers and unthankful. Rather than
following after meekness and true humility, they are proud, boasters, and
despisers of those that are good. Rather
than denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, they instead are lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God.
The
Prophet Isaiah spoke of such times when he wrote, "For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep,
and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath He
covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that
is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned [highly
educated preachers], saying, Read this, I
pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered
unto him that is not learned, saying,
Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with
their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their
fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore,
behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of
their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall
be hid." (Isaiah 29:10-14).
“And the
Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined
battle, Israel was smitten before the
Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.”
(1 Samuel 4:2). Is it any wonder, given
the actions of the children of Israel, that God delivered His people into the
hands of the Philistines in order to correct them for their
unfaithfulness? Is it any wonder that
many Christians today are cast into confusion and defeated on every side
because of their unfaithfulness? These
things should not be!
When
Israel saw that they were beaten before the Philistines, they decided to bring
up the Ark of the Covenant of God into the camp. They thought that God would surely be with
them and bring them victory if the Ark was in their midst. We’re told that "...when the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout so
that the earth rang again." (1 Samuel 4:5). Oh, how the people love to shout! But truly, there was nothing to shout about,
for God was not with them because of their iniquities. God had withdrawn Himself from them when they
left Him! God allowed the Philistines to
defeat them, slay 4,000 of them, and take the Ark from them. The ark was symbolic of the glory and
presence of God in the midst of His people.
Salvation didn’t rest in the Ark, but in the presence of God. God could not bless or defend His people as
long as they were living sin-filled lives.
The buildings, the steeples, the programs, and the rituals do not
guarantee the presence of God, but often hinder it.
God
left His people to their own devices and allowed the Ark to go into captivity
as well. The people said, "The
glory is departed from Israel." It is the same today. The glory is departed from many churches
today. The meetings are dry and full of
ritualism and formalism. Even among the
"free" churches and "come-outer" groups, there seems to be
little real deliverance, and little real revival in the souls of men. They have a form of godliness, but deny the
power! It is not God’s fault that things are so!
The fault lies with unfaithful and carnal-minded men. "Behold,
the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy,
that it cannot hear: but your
iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His
face from you, that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1, 2).
God's
people need a vision so that they can see clearly in these dark days, for great
persecution is coming to the church and to the world. There is only one way that this vision can be
restored: we must repent and seek the Lord with all of our hearts. "If
my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and
seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and
will forgive their sin, and heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14).
"…and all the house of Israel lamented
after the Lord." (1 Samuel 7:2). Before a person can come to repentance, he
must come to lament the state that he is in.
To lament is to feel great sorrow, and regret for one's actions. It's not just being sorry that you got
caught. It's seeing your actions and
understanding that you are far from the Lord.
The church in general needs to lament, and to sigh and weep before the
Lord for how it has strayed from following the Lord. When that happens, and people see how far
they have fallen from God's ways, and they understand what it means to repent
from the heart, then God will be able to hear the church and restore her vision
once again. No more lip service, but
true heart transformation!
After
Israel began to lament, God sent His precious Word and spoke through the mouth
of His Prophet Samuel saying to the people,
"If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the
strange gods and Ashtoroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve Him only: and He will deliver you out of the hand of
the Philistines." (1 Samuel 7:3). So the children of Israel put away their
idols, repenting and confessing their sins, and served the Lord only.
"And when the
Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh,
the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines." (1 Samuel 7:7). Whenever you determine to follow a right
path, Beloved, the enemy is going to oppose you. Satan will never bother you as long as you're
"playing church". Once you make
a real stand for Christ and begin to seek Him with your whole heart, however,
see how the enemy tries to stop you! He
will try to cast fear into your heart, but the Lord has not given us a spirit
of fear! Stand firm and watch the Lord as HE begins to defend you!
"And as Samuel
was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against
Israel: BUT THE LORD THUNDERED WITH A
GREAT CLOUD ON THAT DAY UPON THE PHILISTINES, AND DISCOMFITED THEM; AND THEY
WERE SMITTEN BEFORE ISRAEL." (1 Samuel 7:10).
Praise the Lord! God Himself will fight for that soul that clings to Him
with all his heart. The Lord will "thunder" for him, and he will
find strength and courage to defeat all the enemies of his soul!
"Then Samuel took
a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer
[the stone of help], saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped
us." (1Samuel 7:12). It is only
with God's help and through the Lord Jesus Christ, our stone of help and rock
of salvation, that we find victory!
"And the cities
which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron
even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of
the Philistines."
(1Samuel 7:14). Once you turn to the
Lord with everything in you, trusting Him, He will restore all the ground that
you might have lost when you fell away from Him – and more besides!
In
1 Samuel 7 we read of the deliverance that God brought to Israel. God judged the Philistine nation and their
gods and defeated them. The Ark was also
returned to Israel and came to rest in the house of Abinadab in Kirjathjearim,
and was there for twenty years in peace and safety.
"WHERE
THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH: BUT HE THAT KEEPETH THE LAW, HAPPY IS
HE." What a blessed word! We can have fullness of joy and a clear
vision of God's purpose just by following what is written in His Word and
trusting in God to perform His good will in us.
God has provided a way for us to keep His Words, not through our own strength
or goodness, but through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Christ we have obtained grace, both
to be saved, and to overcome all obstacles and sins. "For
He [God] hath made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians
5:21). Praise His name! What is impossible for men becomes entirely
possible in Christ. We can do all things
through Christ who strengthens us.
One
thing that should be remembered is this: though Israel in general was without
an open vision, God still revealed His will and His Word to Samuel. Even though Samuel was just a child, God
revealed Himself to Him. The priests and
elders of Israel could not hear or understand what God was doing because their
hearts were hardened toward God, and they were disobedient to His will. God will always have a people who are hungry
to hear and follow Him, however. God has
many “children” to whom He is
speaking in these last days. He is
increasing their vision and revealing many things that are to come as they are
searching for Him and dedicating their lives to Him. He has always had a remnant, and He always
will. It will never be great multitudes
who follow along the strait and narrow path, but the broad
way will always be jam packed!
Paul
addresses the essential nature of maintaining a clear vision in his letter to
the Ephesian Church. In the first
chapter he told them that he was praying ceaselessly for them. There were some very specific things that he was asking God to grant them. Generally, he was praying that God would give
them the “spirit of wisdom and revelation” in the knowledge of Him
(verse 17). Paul also asked God that the
eyes of their understanding might be
enlightened (verse 18). In other
words, he is asking God to open their spiritual eyes and give His people a
vision to know and understand His ways!
Paul’s prayer was not just for this one church at this certain point in
history. In his prayer for the
Ephesians, Paul is expressing the very heart of God for all of His children
throughout all ages. As such, we can
claim these precious promises and believe that God wants to apply them to our
own lives also.
Paul
then prays for three specific things
that would happen as a result of having the eyes of their understanding
enlightened. His desire was to see every
Christian lock into the power of the Holy Spirit and experience an intimate
relationship with their Maker, and not just follow a set of rituals and dogmas.
The
first thing that Paul prays for is, “…that ye may know what is the hope of His
calling.” (verse
18). We cannot afford to be unclear
about what God’s calling is all about.
Why did God choose me? What does
He intend to do in my life? What will it
cost me to serve Him? These are all
valid questions, and God has answered each one of them in His Word. The Father wants His children to understand this great hope that we have been
promised, and He is very clear about what He expects of us – it is we who have trouble seeing and believing. In fact, Paul describes it as a “great mystery.” It is mysterious because our poor carnal
minds have trouble grasping it. It
transcends everything that we know in the natural, and contradicts most of what
we have been raised to believe by the world around us. This is why it takes the spirit of divine
wisdom and of revelation to comprehend the mystery. With the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ,
the mystery was revealed in plain sight.
Paul says, “Even the mystery which
hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His
saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles; which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:26, 27).
The
Apostle John spoke of the hope of Christ’s calling when he wrote, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God…Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:
but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see
Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as
He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3).
John makes a few things clear in these verses concerning God’s calling. First, that God loves us to such a degree
that He has called us His sons, and adopted us into His family. Second, that though we are now sons, we are
not yet mature and in many ways are unclear about what full maturity will look
like exactly. Third, that we are being
made into the image of Christ as we are exposed to His presence in our
lives. When He returns, we will see that
He has been etching His likeness into our character all along. Fourth, that everyone who has been awakened
to this glorious hope of being like his Lord will purify himself from
unrighteousness as he beholds the purity of his Lord and Savior. This is our hope, and this is our calling in
Christ! We have been called as a body to
grow up into Him, Who is the Head, in all things (Ephesians 4:15).
The
second thing that Paul prayed for was that God would reveal the “riches
of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” (verse 18). When God told
Israel that they would inherit a land of their own, a Promised Land, He said
that it would be “flowing with milk and
honey,” a land of abundance. When
the Israelites reached Canaan, Moses sent spies into the land to see what it
was like. While there, they found one
cluster of grapes that was so heavy and so full that they had to secure it on a
pole so that two men could carry it between them! This is a type of the riches of glory that
God has provided for His people through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John
10:10). All of the fullness of the
Godhead is contained in Christ, and scripture says that we are complete in Him
(Colossians 2:10)! Christ is now within
us as Christians, and He has come to empower us to be everything that He has
called us to be. Our faith should never
be tentative or fearful about believing what God has promised to us as if His
supply of grace is limited. God invites
us to come boldly before His throne
to receive His grace and His help!
What’s more, we have been given free access by faith into this glorious
grace. Paul says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ: by Whom also we
have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of
the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1, 2).
Paul says also, “In Whom we have boldness and access with confidence by
the faith of Him.” (Ephesians 3:12).
The
inheritance that God has promised us in Christ is one that is “…incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for you.” (1 Peter 1:4). It
has been purchased for us with the precious blood of Jesus. Like a pearl of great price, or a buried
treasure, its’ worth is beyond measure.
All that we know, all that we are, and all that we own is worthless in
comparison to what God has in store for those who love Him.
Finally,
the third thing Paul prayed was that the Ephesians would have a vision of “the
exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe.” (verse 19). It is sad and distressing how much we modern
Christians underestimate the power of God in our lives. Paul praises the faith of earlier saints when
he writes, “Who through faith subdued
kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of
lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of
weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies
of the aliens. Women received their dead
raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that
they might obtain a better resurrection.” (Hebrews 11:33-35). These early saints tapped into the power of
God simply by believing that God would do what He said He would do. In addition, they were willing to put themselves
in jeopardy rather than not live as
God directed and intended them to.
There
are few believers who would argue and say that God is not powerful. How many would
admit, though, that His power is exceeding
great to us-ward who believe?
It is easy to believe that God can do anything, but when it comes to God
being able to do anything in me,
it is easier to make excuses for ourselves.
Scripture tells us that, “As many
as received Him [Jesus], to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12). The Israelites who followed Moses out of
Egypt got in trouble because they “...turned
back and tempted God, and limited the
Holy One of Israel.” (Psalms 78:41). The Church today has gotten in the habit of
limiting God and ignoring what He wants to do in their lives. Oh, how we need a vision!
Paul
goes on to describe the greatness of God’s power to us with these words: “...according to the working of His mighty
power, Which He wrought in Christ,
when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and
dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in
that which is to come: and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be
the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him
that filleth all in all.” (Ephesians 1:19-23). This is the power that God has promised to
His people! This resurrection power is
working in you and me to raise us up from trespasses and sins and quicken us
together with our Savior. Oh, how we
need a vision of everything God has provided for us through the death and
resurrection of His dear Son Jesus Christ.
Our faith must move from what God can do in our lives to what
God has
already done for us in Christ. Jesus
said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life.” (John 6:63). The
flesh isn’t a fan of the Gospel message.
It is our innermost man that is stirred and comes to life at the
preaching of the Word of God. As our
outward man (our carnal flesh) perishes, our inner man is renewed day by day (2
Corinthians 4:16).
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