The Place of Vision in the Call to Ministry

Introduction

“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18 KJV). The Holy Scripture is pretty clear about the centrality and inevitability of vision to the call to ministry. Everyone who claims to be called by The Lord should not be alien to the idea that he has been called by a God who is an embodiment of vision. The nature of the sovereign Lord is indisputably Holiness. However, one can argue that the omniscient quality of the Lord also qualifies Him to be the Grand Visionary because He is driven by His goodwill to transform fallen men of sin into men of holiness. The essence of the gospel is first, to save men from their sins and damnation; and second, to transform them into the very image of God. By His vision, the Lord, immediately after the Fall of Man, spoke of a time when the cursed serpent shall be bruised by the seed of the woman. This is, perhaps, the first metaphorical mention of Salvation’s plan – “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15, KJV).    Vision is governed by God’s Salvation Plan. The latter triggers the former in present day terms. However, originally, the great plan of God was, and continues to be, that men all over the World should be reconciled to Him. No doubt, all men are born into sin and spiritual damnation; nevertheless, owing to the unending love of the Father towards humanity, there was a need to bring fallen men back to Himself. By vision, the Good Lord divinely elected Israel as a prophet to the surrounding nations. Studying the nature of Israel’s worship, one readily concludes that that was a shadow of Christ’s Atonement for the sins of the world. Vision made this possible. After the death, resurrection, commission of the Church, and bodily ascension of the Lord Jesus, every believer, consciously or unconsciously, keys into the great vision of winning the world for Christ. Now, this can be done via various means as the Lord calls and assigns duties to His children according to His will. In this paper, I shall discuss vision as set out in the compendium, Clear Vision, Clear Mission.

The Priority of Vision

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and I will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved” (Habakkuk 2:1, KJV). All vision comes from above, from the Lord. Everyone who is a child of God has entered into the great vision of the Lord. He has a destiny, an assignment to perform for his Lord while he is yet alive. As such, it behoves such a person to “stand upon his watch” and receive instructions for his assignment. The man who has been called has a duty to wait on his master to receive clear directions on how to go about his assignment. The Caller is the same who gives the task and it is He who knows how best to go about fulfilling the tasks He has assigned. Here is a great lesson I have learnt from the dynamics of vision: keep close to the Lord to receive clear directions on how to fulfil my assignment. It is very obvious the cause of many spiritual causalities within the pulpit and the pew – a mechanical approach to the fulfilment of the vision. The place and power of prayer in the actualisation of a given vision can never be overemphasised. It is possible for a son of the Kingdom to be sincerely busy with the task of His Master and yet all his labours are founded on error. It is in the place of prayers that the vision gets clearer and shapely. It is on the altar of prayers that the Grace for every minute assignment is released. Moses made every effort to walk with his Commissioner in every step of the way. Although Scripture describes him as the meekest man in all the earth, there were times when discouragements overwhelmed him; there were times when he cried to God for help; there were times when he told the Lord that the burden of all Israel was too heavy for him to bear. His complaints remain prototypes of every visionary and the vision. Sometimes, there would be overwhelming discouragements; sometimes the vision might seem bigger than the visionary, at other times, the strength to go on might fail. Prayers, intensive and prevailing prayers, remain a healing balm and reassurance. “I will watch to see what he will say unto me” relays the priority of vision. In prayers I will wait till He tells me clearly what my assignment is. I would not go into the field without a clear directive. I will not gamble with the knowledge of the Lord for my life and all Humanity. I will watch and wait to know His Will. Here lies the priority of vision. The Word of the Lord concerning my Ministry would be the crux of my vision. That specific Word must be the definition of my vision and His Will. These two must be fused together if I must fulfil the Ministry He has called me into.

The Purpose of Vision

“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, andI will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” (Habakkuk 2:1-2, KJV). The grand purpose of any vision is to set the visionary on the right track of pursuit. It is to ensure that the visionary is not running without a target. Paul’s admonition to young Timothy stands out as one of Biblical purposes of a vision. He says to Timothy, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:5-8, KJV). By Paul’s admonition to Timothy, one can deduce that Paul, in the first place, is a shining example of those believers who ran the race fulfilling all the divine purposes preordained by their Saviour. Somewhere in the early ministry of Paul, he understood that he was called to minister to the Gentiles. It was very clear, for he had no need of any man to tell him that. As such, making a full proof of his ministry was never a problem for Paul. He knew just how to go about it. That is why he confidently and authoritatively instructs Timothy in the same strides. It is the same for us today. The young visionary is urged to make a full proof of his ministry. Of course, one can never make the best out of a misconceived assignment. First, the assignment must be pretty clear before one can attempt to make a full proof of it. That’s why the Lord asked Habakkuk to write the vision and make it plain. Only that vision which has been clearly received can be put down into writing plainly. The Lord says, “…make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” A clear vision is set to paper so that the visionary would pursue it with purpose. Purposeful pursuit of the vision is very important. To do this, the young visionary would have to acknowledge his immediate culture and consciously create mission statements that would help him approach the essence of his vision. He would have to study the nature of his vision and find out the needs of the vision. Paul again says to Timothy, “study to shew thyself approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). To study should not be streamlined to just a study of Scripture, but other materials that would be of immense benefit to the vision. This means that the visionary should be a reader. New information should be at his fingertips at all times. Running with the vision involves making a full proof of one’s ministry. Another purpose of vision is to keep the faith. The end purpose of every believer who has been called to ministry is to keep the faith and unite with the Master who has commissioned him. The purpose of God in calling men into ministry is not to lose such men to the devil. God loves the souls of men more than the assignment which he commissions to men. However, it is indeed sad to know that countless men who have been called to ministry have been swallowed up by the assignment they were commissioned with, such that they cannot find their feet in Christ anymore. The reason Habakkuk was inspired to wait and inquire at the feet of the Lord was to know what I shall answer when I am reproved.  Paul knew of this reality and never faltered at it. That was why he boldly declared to his son Timothy, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. The young visionary must know that someday, he would be called to give account of how he had carried out his divine assignment. He must know that God is more interested in his ability to keep the faith in the process of fulfilling the vision. What’s more, the Lord has a reward, a crown for that visionary who has run the race, fulfilled his vision, and kept the faith.

https://www.thevoices.com.ng/2015/06/25/uncategorized/the-place-of-vision-in-the-call-to-ministry/