“Where there is no prophetic vision the
people cast off restraint…” The older
way of translating that is that the people perish. Either way the result is the same. We need prophetic visions that reveal to us
God’s preferred way, the kingdom revealed to us. In the midst of this life, in the fallen
reality, we need to see that this is not what was intended by the creator. We need to see something more than the
reality of sin and death, we need to see God at work renewing lives and the
kingdom breaking in. Defeat is all
around us, we need to see victory to keep us energized and hopeful in our labor
for the kingdom.
These parables of the kingdom are true for both the church
and for individuals. A.W. Tozer once
wrote that the problem in the church is that too many are asleep. He gave a parable about one man waking up in
faith and passion in the church and the church’s response was to send him to be
a missionary, that was the only thing they knew to do with someone alive for
the Gospel and once that one was gone, they were so proud of sending him they
went back to sleep. We need the leaven
of passion and fire in our midst to awaken us to what God is doing and to the
reality of His presence. We need always
to see revival in our midst and in other churches in order to remind us that He
is a living God and that the word of God is living and active and sharper than
any two-edged sword. We need to see to
believe and to call us upward on onward.
We tend to strive towards what we reward and value. Paul says that those who rule well,
particularly those who preach and teach, are worthy of double honor and we
should lift them up for the congregation.
We should have a culture of celebration in our churches whereby we
continually recognize what God is doing in our midst and through the lives of
our people. The more we celebrate these
things the more we are stirred up to be a part of what God is doing rather than
bystanders. We need to see God’s
activity as a present reality and desire to see this fruit in our own
lives. In seeking this we will also
change the way we live, always looking to glorify Him that we might see Him at
work. It is always Him we celebrate, not
ourselves.
How firm a foundation,
ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith
in His excellent Word!
What more can He say
than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus
for refuge have fled?
In every condition, in
sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or
abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on
the land, on the sea,
As thy days may
demand, shall thy strength ever be.
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