This sermon series was inspired by the book “visioneering” by Andy Stanley. Parts of this sermon are taken directly from the material in his book.
20 Essential Building Blocks for Vision – Part 3
March 30, 2003
The past 2 weeks we have been talking about vision and the building blocks that are essential for vision. These are essential not only for building vision, but also for maintaining vision, as we will see today.
Together over the past 2 weeks we have begun to realize the sacrifice and risk involved in following the vision that God gives to us. What have learned what it means to give up the actual good for the potential best. We have discovered that to carry out the vision, it is necessary to leave the comfortable and familiar to embrace the uncomfortable and unfamiliar.
Together we have learned that vision is more like parachuting than ice skating. You don’t “sort of” parachute. You’re either in the plane, or in the air. Even from the very first time, you realize that you either do it or you don’t. A first time ice skater on the other hand takes to the ice cautiously, and never more than an arm’s length from the railing.
Visions never become reality until someone is ready to make the jump. Launching a vision always requires wholehearted commitment.
Goliath never would have been defeated had David not stepped out from the ranks of the Israelites to challenge the giant.
Peter would have never known the thrill of coming to Jesus on the water had he not swung both legs over the side of the boat and stepped out into deep water.
And we will never experience the fulfillment of accomplishing the vision that God has given to us, if we are not willing to take the risk and sacrifice that is required.
When we left off with Nehemiah last week, he had cast the vision to the people, they bought in to the vision and the work of rebuilding was ready to begin.
Jobs were assigned and each one began working on their section of the wall.
Vision is never accomplished single handedly. Nehemiah knew that he could not rebuild the wall by himself. As he was casting the vision, he was praying that the people would catch the vision and work alongside him.
In the same way, I can not accomplish the vision that God has given me for True Life Community Church on my own. I am counting on you and others to catch the vision and come alongside me to help build.
Just as it is not easy for us to make the sacrifices required, it was not easy for the people in Jerusalem either. This was an agricultural society. If you weren’t working, you weren’t eating. I’m sure they were busy with more things to do than they could fit into their schedule. Adding this project to their daily routine meant putting other things on hold.
To make things even more complicated, many of the people had moved out of the city into the areas surrounding Jerusalem. Rebuilding the wall meant leaving their homes, farms, families and businesses to travel in to town to work. Eventually they were asked to leave their homes altogether and move into the city to make the work more efficient. And they did so willingly. The vision of what could be and should be compelled them to make the necessary sacrifice.
The reason that many Christians and many churches today do not see God’s vision for them accomplished is because they are not willing to sacrifice or take risks. I envision TLC Church as a different kind of church. A church where the leaders and members do whatever it takes to reach their community for Christ. Where we follow God even when it doesn’t seem to make sense. Where we sacrifice our preferences even though it’s not comfortable or convenient.
Nehemiah had sacrificed a lot to get to this place. He had left a palace job and traveled hundreds of miles hoping that a group of people he had never met would join him in a project that had little chance of success. There was one thing that no one could say about Nehemiah, and that was that he was not committed.
Building Block #9 – Don’t expect others to take greater risks or make greater sacrifices than you have.
You will have to be committed to the vision that God has given you and you will have to step out on faith and risk being ridiculed. As you make sacrifices to accomplish the vision, your potential to lead others will greatly increase. But if you retreat, you will always wonder what might have been.
As the pastor of this church, I am committed to the vision that God has given me. Laurel and I will continue to risk everything and make whatever sacrifices are necessary, to pursue the vision of True Life Community Church.
Not everyone will buy into a vision though, in fact many will go so far as to resist it. Nehemiah found this to be true as well.
Let’s read Nehemiah 4:1-23
Sanballat and Tobiah were obviously not happy or supportive of this vision. In fact they tried on more than one occasion to discourage the workers and cause the work to stop.
The workers began to get tired and the thrill of a new project had worn off. Like children on a long road trip, they were starting to complain and ask “are we there yet?”
Nehemiah remembered that this was a vision from God and realized that it was a spiritual endeavor. The fact that His work revolved primarily around brick, mortar and rubble did not distract him from the spiritual dimension of the vision.
Building Block #10 – Respond to criticism with prayer, remembrance, and if necessary, a revision of the plan.
Nehemiah dealt with the criticism of those around him by doing these three things.
1. Praying – (vs. 4) Instead of responding to the criticism or defending himself to those who had criticized him, Nehemiah talked to God about it. Nehemiah continued to channel his thoughts and energy in the direction of his vision, instead of focusing his attention on his enemies. How much better we would be if we made prayer our initial response to criticism.
2. Remembering the source of his vision – (vs. 14) Nehemiah thought back over the situation and remembered how God had brought them this far. It was by looking back that he found the energy to move forward. Once again, Nehemiah exhibited his skills as a leader by calling the people together and challenging them to remember the God they were working for.
3. Revising his plan – (vs. 16-18) Nehemiah decided to set up a guard against the enemy. He realized the balance between walking by faith and leading strategically. Posting a guard did not demonstrate a lack of faith. If Sanballat and his army decided to invade Jerusalem, Nehemiah knew that they didn’t stand a chance of defending themselves without God’s intervention. He did what he knew to do and trusted God for the rest.
Building Block #11 – Don’t confuse your plans with God’s vision.
Nehemiah didn’t quit because his first plan wasn’t working perfectly. He knew the difference between his plan and God’s vision.
God’s vision is what could and should be.
A plan is a guess as to the best way to accomplish the vision.
Granted, the plan should be an educated, informed, prayerfully considered guess, but we will probably still need to revise the plan…maybe several times.
Building Block #12 – Visions are refined – they don’t change. Plans are revised – they rarely stay the same.
Be confident of the vision, but be flexible with your plan. Strategies and timelines are always up for grabs.
God does not change the vision, but he may refine it.
Let’s continue reading in Nehemiah 5:1-5
It’s obvious from these verses that the work on the wall was taking its toll on the workers. They were running out of food and money and many had already mortgaged their farms and sold their children into slavery just to pay their taxes or have money to buy food.
To make matters worse, Nehemiah discovered that some of the nobles and city officials were actually taking advantage of the situation to make a profit.
Everyone was pulled in different directions and had different concerns of their own, and no one was very concerned about the vision anymore.
Building Block #13 – Visions thrive in an environment of unity; they die in an environment of division.
Nehemiah knew that he could not ignore these problems. Like the alignment on your car, it needs corrected or it will continue to get worse. Problems like these do not just resolve themselves. How big they become is usually determined by our willingness to address them.
Nehemiah 5:6-13
Nehemiah had great influence over the people. Influence is far more critical to the success of your vision than your position. In fact, when it comes to vision, position is optional, but influence is essential.
What gave Nehemiah such great influence over the people, was his moral authority. Moral authority is the relationship other people see between what you say and what you do, between what you claim to be and what you are.
We will not allow ourselves to be influenced by those who lack moral authority in our eyes. Inconsistency between what is said and what is done inflicts a mortal wound on a leader’s influence.
Having moral authority made Nehemiah a leader worth following.
Nehemiah 5:14-19
Building Block #14 – Abandon the vision before you abandon your moral authority.
You must be willing to do the right thing even if it jeopardizes your vision. Often times we have to make a choice somewhere down the road of whether or not we will compromise ethically or morally for the sake of seeing our vision through to completion.
Abraham had to make this choice. He finally had a son and God said “sacrifice him”. Abraham’s dilemma was not that different from the ones that we have faced or will face. “Do I obey God, or do I do what appears to best serve the completion of the vision?”
Here is the key – Just as God intervened on behalf of Abraham, if your vision is truly a “God thing”, he will intervene for you as well.
Furthermore, God will never lead you to embrace a vision that would force you to do something that he forbids.
We learn from Nehemiah that developing and maintaining moral authority requires three things.
1. Character – the will to do what is right, as God defines it. It’s not that Nehemiah did not have a legal right to require the food allotment, but it was not the right thing to do under the circumstances.
2. Sacrifice – giving beyond what is comfortable and convenient. Nehemiah realized that he could not expect the people to sacrifice more than he was willing to sacrifice.
3. Time – moral authority is achieved over time as your character is put to the test and people see consistency time and time again between what you say and what you do.
Time of Reflection
