FROM SUCCESS TO SIGNIFICANCE

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A Vision of Serving God

Serving God is the destiny of all Christians. We get there in different ways, but if we remain faithful, we all are marching toward that goal. It isn’t having a lofty position, or making a lot of money, or entering full time service as a pastor or missionary. It is simply being where God wants me to be today.

Today I’m going to talk about your future. However, the most important question is “Am I where God wants me to be today?”
The answer is yes or no. I’m either walking in obedience to his moral laws, or I’m not.

Ex 2:11-13
One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12 Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

Vision=success=service (significance)
Vision=our attempt at success (failure)=service

“Without a vision the people perish”
I don’t want any of you to die. I want you all to have a vision. Vision is not limited to age. The very young to the very old can have a vision.
What is a vision? It is a God-given picture in your mind of where you are going.
If I’m going to take you on a trip to China next year, and start showing you photos of where we are going to visit, and start talking it up, I would be instilling a vision in you of where you are going to go. Parents do that with Disneyland. Did it happen to you? Of course you remember the anticipation.
It’s the same way with God. He wants to impart a vision in your heart and mind of where you are going. You say “I wish he would.” I say “He already is.” You just have to know the rule. The rule is Ps 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The desire of your heart is your vision. Delighting yourself in the Lord is the pathway.

You say “But wait, I am a Christian and have no vision.” I beg to differ. When you lay awake at night and can’t sleep, what do you wish you could do? If it doesn’t conflict with God’s moral law, I say it is a vision put there by God. It doesn’t have to be “religious,” although many times it is. We tend to discount those daydreams as just daydreams. I like to think of them as God whispering visions into our brain when we are not occupied by the daily tasks of life.

The important thing to remember is that we must open ourselves to the possibilities of what God may want to do in our future. “Nothing is impossible with God.” Too many times we are limited by our refusal to take those visions seriously.

Let me clarify that this doesn’t give you license to sail around the world because you’ve always wanted to do it. All visions must be viewed through the God filter. Filter out selfish ambition, and ask yourself “What is God’s vision for my future?” Am I a prisoner of a 9 to 5 job for the next 30 years? Maybe you are. But God had Moses in the desert for 40 years. That’s a lifetime. Then his ministry started. He thought it was over. God had other ideas.

When was Moses given the vision?
Ans. When he say the Israelites being beaten.
What was Moses’ response?
Ans. Take control.

Was the vision correct? Yes.
Was his implementation of the vision correct? No
When did the vision actually take place? 40 years later
What slowed Moses down?
Ans: He took control.

Who is in control of your life? Is your hand on the stick, or is God’s?