March 30

Got Vision?

March 30, 2008 Pat Mahin

Greg Mortenson was in trouble. He was separated from his climbing party. Evening was drawing close and he had almost now gear with him. He only had a daypack, which contained a power bar, an empty water bottle and an old Pakistani blanket. Greg was lost on K2 the second highest mountain in the world. But he survived that cold night in 1993 on the Himalayan peak known as Savage Mountain.

At daybreak he began the slow descent hoping to find his way down the mountain. In the late morning, dog tired, he spotted his porter who escorted him to the nearby Pakistani village of Korphe. He had been on the mountain for 70 days. The villagers welcomed him and provided a warm bed and food. There he began his recovery. Greg wanted to thank these kind people who nursed him back to health, but he was not sure how to do that. It was such a huge debt to repay. He started to give away all his belongings, including his trauma medical supply kit.

Greg asked that he be shown the village school. They led him up a steep path to a large open ledge. There he saw 82 kids kneeling on the frosty ground in the open. The village elder then explained that the village had no school and that the government did not provide a teacher. As he looked over the valley from that rocky, cold outdoor classroom, he was sick. His heart broke for this village and children who had no hope to better themselves. All he could think about was how much he owed to this village. Without thinking how this might change his life, Greg said “I’m going to build you a school”. “I will build you a school. I promise”.

This was Mortenson’s vision. He didn’t know how he would do that. He had no idea how many obstacles he would run into funding the project or even getting all the building materials to this remote mountainous village. It would have been easy to quit. But he didn’t. Over three years later, Mortenson crouched over the roof of the new school in Korphe and pounded in that last nail. His vision was a reality. Now the Central Asia Institute that Greg founded has built over 60 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They have funded 562 teachers and educated over 25,000 students. This is the power of a vision. A dream and promise that became a reality.

We are talking about vision this morning. We are talking about what it is, what it takes to have it and what we need to do once we have a vision. It is a good time to talk about this today. As Buck mentioned we are going to start this survey on a vision process. So we will be going through that right here at Faith.

Greg was really a regular guy he had fairly ordinary job, as an ER nurse. But as you heard, he found a calling. The vision he had, let him to do remarkable things. So I ask you, Do you have a vision for your life, your family, or your church, this church? And if you have on, what are you doing about it? Sometimes I sort of feel more like Mitch in the movie, City Slickers. We are going to watch a clip from that movie now. Mitch is in his son’s classroom. Another father has just explained what he does as a construction worker. The kids are fascinated. Now Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, begins to tell about his job as some one who sells advertising time on a radio station. Mitch is disillusioned by his job and drifts off in a ramble that depicts how he sees his life. Let’s watch.

Video clip:

“Value this time in your life kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices, and it goes by so fast. When you are a teenager you think you can do anything and you do. Your twenties are a blur; thirties you raise your family and make a little money and you think to yourself, ‘what happened to my twenties’? Forties, you grow a little pot belly and you grow another chin, the music starts to get too loud and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. Fifties you have a minor surgery, you will call it a procedure, but it is a surgery. Sixties you will have a major surgery, the music is still loud but it doesn’t matter because you can’t hear it anyway. Your seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale, start eating dinner at two o’clock in the afternoon, you have lunch around ten, breakfast the night before, spend most of you time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate soft yogurt and muttering, ‘How come the kids don’t call? ‘How come the kids don’t call?’ Eighties you will have a major stroke and you end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse that your wife can’t stand but you call mama. Any questions?”

I think we’d all agree that a Greg Mortenson life, lived with meaning and purpose, is what we would prefer.

Let’s take a look at a biblical example of what vision looked like in 5^th century BC Babylon. Let’s look at the story of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 1:2-6)

Here is the context. The southern kingdom, Judah has fallen in 586 BC. The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and along with it the Temple. The Hebrew people have been hauled off to Babylon. The Persian Empire has now replaced the Babylonians. Thirteen years have passed since Ezra and the Hebrew people have returned to Jerusalem. Some of Jerusalem has been rebuilt. Nehemiah, a Jew, is living in the Assyrian capital of Susa. He has been able to land a pretty good job for a foreigner. He worked for King Artaxerxes as the king’s cupbearer. He would be a very trusted servant. Although he is not a decision maker and big shot, he did have the king’s ear and respect. Let’s look at the scripture here, Nehemiah first chapter, verse 2. I’m going to read from the New Living translation.

2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had returned there from captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Things are not going well for those who returned to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”

4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.

This is the equivalent moment when Greg Mortenson saw that rocky, cold field that was the so called school in Korphe. Nehemiah like Mortenson was heart broken. Except at that moment Nehemiah prayed to God: Here we are at verse 5.

“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!

Nehemiah made that prayer in the autumn of that year. The text tells us that in the spring of the next year he was serving the king wine and he noticed something was wrong. (Nehemiah 2:2-5)

The king said: “Why are you so sad? You aren’t sick are you? You look like a man with deep troubles”

So it’s about four months or so since Nehemiah heard of the state of Jerusalem. He is still thinking about the state of Jerusalem. This is a pivotal point in the story of Nehemiah. By now, Nehemiah knew what he wanted to do. But he had a huge favor to ask. He no doubt took a big swallow and said:

“Then I was badly frightened, but I replied. ‘Long live the king! Why shouldn’t I be sad? For the city in which my ancestors are buried is in ruins and the gates have been burned down.’

And here comes the opening of a lifetime. The king says;

“Well, how can I help you?”

Whoa, and now Nehemiah takes at least two big swallows. This is his big chance. And he gets ready to make the BIG ASK. But before he does, he does something very important. He checks in with God. We don’t know what he said or how long the prayer was. Here’s what the text says:

“With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied “If it please your Majesty and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

You see, Nehemiah has a vision. He wants to do something. He sees the walls being rebuilt; he can envision a restored Jerusalem. He is committed to getting that done. So much so that he is willing to make this request to the ruler in the largest empire of the known world. Can you imagine going to your boss and asking for time off to go on a mission trip just because you have a vision? This took a lot of chutzpah. When the king gives him permission, he goes on to ask for even more. He has done his homework! He asks for letters of safe passage to Jerusalem and for the timber to rebuild the wall.

The book of Nehemiah goes on to describe the incredible challenges he faced and is a great story of how his leadership restored Judah. In time the walls are rebuilt. Nehemiah goes on to be appointed governor of Judah and serves for 12 years. While governor he oversaw a spiritual renewal of the Hebrew people. This man of character and persistence and prayer brought his vision into reality. Without this vision of purpose this amazing feat could not have been accomplished.

Nehemiah’s passion led him from a vision to a restored Jerusalem and all along the way he included God. Throughout this process, he prays to God. You will be amazed as you read through the Book of Nehemiah the number of time; he calls out Gods name and prays to him.

Let’s dig into the concept of vision and its importance. Steven Covey, the organizational and management guru and author Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, defines vision this way: “Vision is the ability to see beyond our present reality, to create, to invent what does not yet exist, to become what we not yet are.” One of the Covey principals is “Begin with the end in mind”. In other words have a specific goal and keep that picture of the outcome in mind. A vision.

As you think about vision, what are some of the more notable ones you can think of? John F. Kennedy challenged the U.S. with the vision of landing on the moon by the end of 1960’s. In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped off that ladder on the lunar module onto the surface of the moon. It was an audacious goal and we did it. Most visions are that way. They aren’t easy. One of the most inspirational visions talks was the “I Have a Dream” speech that Martin Luther King delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. That vision is not a reality yet, but much progress has been made in the 40 some years since Dr. King challenged us. Sometimes we have a vision but have not idea how to get there. Greg Mortenson had no idea.

Listen to this quote and see if you can guess who said it: "I was to leave the convent and work with the poor, living among them. It was an order. I knew where I belonged but I did not know how to get there." A religious order was formed out of that vision. By 2007 the Missionaries of Charity numbered approximately 450 brothers and 5,000 nuns worldwide, operating 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries. Who is she? This was Mother Teresa’s vision.

Just a couple of years ago, a group of members of this church had a vision of a debt-free church building. Through the Jubilee campaign we achieved that. That vision is now a reality.

So I ask you, what is your vision? Is there something that breaks your heart? Is there some goal you have in your life that you are strongly motivated to achieve? It might be here at Faith, or at your work or family. It might be some personal spiritual goal. Maybe you want something or want to do something that is way beyond what you think you can do? Rebuilding that wall in Jerusalem or building a school in the middle of the desolate Pakistani mountains was way out there too. Tom Peters, the well known management consultant and writer, encouraged business leaders to develop what he called a BHAG. A big hairy audacious goal. BHAG. To accomplish meaningful things sometimes we need a goal that is a stretch. What’s your BHAG? And are you working for it?

Maybe down deep you have one, but are reluctant to make it known. Maybe you aren’t sure even what it is. What is important to you? What is really important? Look at your core values? That’s want drives your passion. It’s what defines your activity and clarifies your vision.

In a later part of the City Slickers movie, Mitch is on the trail driving cattle from Texas to Colorado. He is talking to the grizzled old cowboy, Curly, played by Jack Palance. They are talking about making sense out of life. Curly asks, “Do you know what the secret of life is?” Mitch gives him a confused look and says “no”. Curly responds while holding up one finger and he says “one thing, just one thing and when you have it, nothing else matters”. And Mitch asks: “What’s the one thing?” and Curly says: “That what you’ve got to figure out”. Do you know what your one thing is? Once you do, seeing that vision may not be all that difficult.

Having and living out your vision is not all about you though. Be a Nehemiah. Remember what the text said;

As soon as I heard these words (that is of the condition or the walls of Jerusalem), I wept and mourned for days, I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

So, Nehemiah immediately asked God to join him. In verse 11 we read that he ‘prayed to God to be attentive to his prayers and give him success.’ Instead of taking the problem on by himself, he asked God to join him. He kept the focus on God. I’d like to try a little experiment to illustrate that. I have a couple volunteers to help me. This won’t take a lot of coordination; not that you’re not. What I want you to do, the goal here is to balance this broom. I am going to ask you to do it two different ways. The first way I want you to try and do it is to keep the palm of your hand at waist level. Put the broom handle on your palm, look down and try the balance the broom. O.K. Now do it again, but this time instead of looking down, look up. Look up to the top of the broom and see if you can balance it. O.K.

Did you see that when they looked down, they could not keep that broom upright? What made them be able to balance the broom? Do think it was because it was the second or third try? No, they merely changed the focus upward. It was only when they lookup could they control the balance of the broom. What happens when we take the focus off God and rely on ourselves completely? It’s harder isn’t it? I think this little experiment just reminds us to look up, look to God

What can we conclude here? How can we be useful to God and to those around us? Maybe we don’t start a religious order or build schools halfway across the world. Maybe our goal is not big and hairy. But like Nehemiah, be a person who talks to God. Share yourself with him; share your dreams, your thoughts, and your concerns. And then walk with God. Walk with God. Put into action what you have learned by reading his word or praying. There may be a BHAG that God wants you to work on. Or it may be a vision like our mortgage pay off or working on the AIDS crisis.

Developing that vision has more to do with talking to God. The next step of Walking with God is all about doing something. I’m going to show you a short clip from a World Vision AIDS video and it speaks to that. It’s the action we take after we talk. God wants us to do something. What will it be for you?

Video clip: (showing young African children)

I want to be an engineer

I will be a teacher

I want to be a nurse

I can live a long time

You have one life.

Do something.

Let us not love

with words or tongue,

but with actions and truth.

1 John 3:18

You have one life.

Do something.

Let’s pray together:

Dear God,

Like Nehemiah, we want to include you in this vision process. We ask for your inspiration to develop our visions and to carry them into reality. Like Nehemiah, help us to remain humble and to not become too self absorbed. As we look to the future at Faith and as we begin our own visioning process, we ask that we might walk together with you as you guide us through the process. We pray all this in Jesus name.