Tues.7.7.15...How's Your Vision?...Prov.29:15-27

Where there is no vision the people perish..." Prov.29:18 KJV

In the Bible, prophets received visions or revelations from God and would then proclaim those oracles to the people. If it wasn't for the fact that those heavenly messages were revealed, the people would go astray and perish in their sins. Look at the condition of people today; they desperately need to heed God's vision or revelation recorded in His word for them. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Of course the greatest revelation of God's love and will for his people was when God's word became flesh and dwelt among. "The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" John 1:14. Though we personally weren't there to see his glory, one day we will see Jesus our Lord face to face. That vision will utterly transform us! "We know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" 1 John 3:2. That vision will finally and completely transform us. We shall be like him, not that we will become divine, but we will be without sin. Anybody else looking forward to seeing that vision?! When we see Him, He also will "transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" Phil.3:21. If this revelation had not been written down for us, you could accuse me of making up things too good to be true. But we do have such a glorious future awaiting us. "When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" Col.3:4.  

So how should we then live, since we have been given this "out of this world" vision of our future? The very next verses of each of the last three verses cited reveals that to us also. "Everyone who has this hope in him [this confident expectation of Christ's return] purifies himself, just as He is pure" 1 John 3:3. Would you be getting your white tux dirty just before your wedding day? Of course not. So what should we do? "Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" Col.3:5. By living a life of death to sin and devotion to Christ and his people, Paul says, "that is how you should stand firm in the Lord" Phil.4:1.

We need to keep that vision of our future before us. Without it, we can easily lose focus. If we lose sight of Christ's death, resurrection and return for us, we can degenerate to low level living, and the vision of our glorious future becomes clouded over. Then our mission/message that we've been given can easily become sidelined. To prevent that, many churches have mission statements. They know they need to keep God's vision and their mission for reaching perishing people before their people's eyes. Did you here about the church that had their vision statement on a sign above the church? It was our verse of vision today- "Where there is no vision the people perish." Unfortunately, a windstorm came through and blew off the first letter of the first word, revealing the truth about many churches- "_here there is no vision, the people perish." Most Christians don't have a vision or mission for their lives, so their own lives shrivel and the people around them perish. But we do have a compelling vision- to see men become MANLY or Christlike men. And you know your mission. It's to multiply MANLY men. Men who are-
Mature in character- Power HOUSE men. I pray daily that we would be such and that the Lord would give you such men- Hungry, Obedient, Unstoppable, Strong in the Lord, Encouraging. 
Active in mentoring- I look at our GREAT scoreboard and I see men who are very active in mentoring. Way to grow!
Noble in battle- We WAR to live lives Worthy of God, to Activate the sidelined saints and to Release the locked up lost.
Loving in relationships- Without love for our family and those around us we are nothing.
Yoked to Christ and a band of brothers. We are devoted to one another in brotherly love.

We keep this vision and mission before us. We just reviewed it. The vision statement is the picture of what we want to see- MANLY Men. The mission statement is what we will do to achieve that vision- enlist, exemplify, equip and encourage men to mature and multiply. In World War II, we had a vision to see people free from Hilter's tyranny. To achieve that vision, we embarked on a daring mission- to break through Hitler's North Atlantic wall, via the Normandy invasion and fight all the way to Hitler's doorstep in Berlin, Germany to defeat them. But that great mission required one other element- better training, troops, supplies and strategy than the renowned German army had. We had it and so we won. I'm proud to say that my dad was part of that liberating army. Though he didn't enter on the shores of Normandy, he served heroically. Those soldiers had a great crusade or mission which they trained much for.

We also have a great mission and battle to fight. I too have great confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. The daily blog and scoreboard prove that you are armed and dangerous. Just look at how well you and your teammates are scoring each day. That reveals a lot about how your faith is being lived out. As you know, not every man we seek to recruit is up to this. Some do not share the vision that you do. They would rather watch television. Others may start but drop out. Being Christ's disciple takes discipline. But as with Paul, I rejoice "to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ" Col.2:5. Others aren't willing to be unstoppable. Excuses come much easier than excellence. But I see such excellent progress in you. You are striving to advance God's kingdom. You are from the nation of determination, not procrastination. You are keeping the mission in your focus- of multiplying MANLY men. Continue you on and you will hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your master." That is a vision well worth focusing on.

1.- At the heart of our mission, Christ's great co-mission, is to share the good news with others. It's been so good to read your stories of opportunities you've taken to share our Greatest Mini-movies cards. Please share any stories since 10 days ago when I last asked about such. Thanks! 

I like to go to cemeteries where it's dead quiet and I can pray my heart out. Recently, I met three Marines who were there to present the flag to a fallen veteran. After thanking them for their service, I shared about you soldiers in M3 whom I am so proud of. I also gave each of them a Greatest Mini-movies card which they thanked me for. So have cards with you. I keep extras in my wallet and car. You never know when you may meet people to give our cards to- even in a cemetery. 

2.- Read Prov.29:15-27 and write out the verse you picked and some of your thoughts regarding it. Bless you for continuing to share what you've gleaned with others.

Announcements
See you this Sunday at our M3 meeting. It will be at 11:30 in the Break Room.
Special honors will be given and new info revealed. Call me in advance if for some reason you can't make it. Thanks! You won't want to miss it. 

Hey, if you know Nick Vastarella, please wish him a happy birthday. He's been considering joining M3. You can call or text him at c.312-262-8569. Thanks!