"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."
There are two phrases in this verse. The first phrase, many know by hearing it or by memorization. Few know the second part of this verse. LEt us look at this verse for our edification, teaching and instruction: where there is no vision, the people perish - there must be direction, leading and guiding for living and doing right; If there is no leading by God, then destruction and failure is sure to follow. The vision must come from the right source. The only right source is God. when men dream dreams and see visions of their own making, or those surplanted by Satan, no good can come from those. so it is the most important thing to recognize and understand where the vision is coming from. We see the visions and dreams of men today, they are all about their own advancement, their own success, pride is the root of it, vanity is the results of it. God will not honor the visions of men because they do not bring glory to Him. Whatever dream or vision is cast must be from the Lord for His glory. It is a common practice today, for church leaders to dream dreams and see visions and casts visions for the church out of their own hearts and minds. Then they turn and ask God to bless their designs and agendas. This will not do. The dream and the vision must come from the Lord, and He will bless that. There is much folly and sin found among church leaders to today. Now they do it, becasue the people are perishing, and so they cast a vision for the sake of the lost. What good does anything do without God?
Let us look for a moment at some of the dreams in the Bible. We see Jacob's dream when he left home because of Esau's threats. And there that night, with a rock for a pillow, God gave him a dream of the ladder. He saw the spirits ascending and descending on that ladder, and awoke to say, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.' The dream was to draw Jacob to the God of Abraham. Next we see the God of Pharoah, the dream of the seven corn stalks and the seven cows. This dream could only be interrupted by Joseph for the sake of preserving God's people, the household of Jacob and his 70 family members. We see dream of Nebuchadnezzar and the statute, where only Danile could tell him not only the intrepretation of the dream but the dream itself. Many other examples are to be found throughout the Scriptures for the sake of God's glory being manifested.
Let us see the visions casts throughout the church's history. We see Martin Luther having a vision of a pure catholic church, rich in Scripture and true to it. A message returning to the justification by and through Christ for men and not through the works of the flesh. why was it that Luther saw Romans 5:1 that day that spoke to him? Because God opened his eyes to see.
What can we say about John Wesley that he saw in his vision to see the church following a 'Method' of spiritual learning and practice to obtain holiness in the Lord? We see an entire group of churches formed after this, winning souls left and right for the glory of the kingdom.
What can we say of David Livingstone, who said the smoke huts of millions of Africans in need of the Gospel message burned in his heart? Therefore, 'he was spending and being spent' to reach the people for the kingdom.
What can we say of Hudson Taylor, who saw China in need of the Gospel and saw out posts scattered in regional points to reach all of China with the Gosepl? And the great China Inland Mission was born and labored to bring untold numbers into the kingdom and lay the groundwork for great revival in the 1900's.
Do you see it? God gives a vision. God empowers the person. the people respond to the vision, not trying to get God to respond to our vision. It is God, only God. Oh, the folly of man to think that they could ever do what only God can do. Willwe never cease with this sin of vanity and pride?
and so we see God grants and gives a vision for the people that are perishing to be reached and won to Him.
My vision was Broken Before the Throne. A prayer conference that actually incorportated prayer in it. All prayer conference that I have ever attended; preached on prayer, taught on prayer but never prayed. And when we see the masses perishing without the power to draw them to Christ. 'For no man can come unto the Father unles He draws him.' And God said the people perish, because there is no one praying for the power nor for the souls. Pray, then the power and the souls will be reached. A vision casts by God to redeem a lost people.
And one of the things that bothers me most, is the silence of God without a vision or dream.
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