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THE POWER OF VISION

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Numbers 13:25—14:10

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Empowered by a Godly vision, we can conquer!

A sermon preached by

Rev. Bud Reeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot= Springs, Arkansas

June 29, 2008

With many people gone = or going on vacation this time of year, I thought I’d share with you one= of our favorite vacation memories. One July 4^th, 2002, Karen, our boys, and I visited Mount Rushmore, n= ear Rapid City, South Dakota. What better place to be for a patriotic celebration of our freedom?<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> What we learned there just increas= ed our admiration for the size and scope of that phenomenal project.

Way back in the 1920’s, a state official suggested that some gigantic sculptures in t= he Black Hills of South Dakota would be a great tourist attraction. So they contacted Gutzon Borglum, a renowned sculptor who had some experience carving mountains. But when Gutzon Borglum saw the possibilities in South Dakota= , he developed a vision of something much greater than a tourist attraction.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> More than an image of a cowboy or = an Indian or a wild animal, he saw the possibility of crafting a memorial to t= he spirit of America. He proposed putting the faces of f= our of our greatest Presidents in the mountain, so that generations of Americans c= ould remember and celebrate their leadership and the ideals of freedom that have made this country great. In f= act, he felt this vision so strongly that he once said the four Presidents were = in Mount Rushmore all along; he just removed enough ro= ck to reveal them.

Beginning in 1927, Bor= glum and a crew of nearly 400 men labored for fourteen years to complete this massive sculpture. Each face = is about 60 feet tall. Borglum d= ied in 1941, before the last face was completed.&= nbsp; But the legacy he left was much more than a cheesy tourist attractio= n. It is one of the most massive work= s of art in the world and one of the most recognizable symbols of America. With the rate of erosion of the gr= anite rock, it should be around for thousands of years.[1]

What would it be like = to live with a massive vision like that? What does it mean to center your life around some mission that will really make a difference? Isn’t that what the “Great Adventure” is all about? Aren’t people of= faith called to live with a vision?

Today we encounter two visionaries in the story of the Exodus: Caleb and Joshua. They were two of a group of twelve= spies that Moses sent to check out the land of Canaan before the Hebrew children crossed over into it. Ten of the spies reported back that the real estate looked good, but= the people who were already there were big and mean and well-fortified—li= ke the legendary tribe of Anak, a race of giants. There was no way the ragtag bunch = of escaping slaves could take that land.

But Caleb and Joshua s= aw it differently. They saw the bea= uty of the land. They saw the obstac= les to victory. But they saw one oth= er thing the others didn’t see: they saw the hand of God in all of this. They sensed his purpose= . They knew his power. And they recommended swift action = to conquer the land. Caleb said,= “Let us go up at once and occupy= it, for we are well able to overcome it.”[2]

Initially, the naysaye= rs ruled the day, but eventually the children of Israel took the land God had promised them. What can we le= arn from these visionaries, Caleb and Joshua, for our own faith today? What difference does it make to li= ve with a vision?

First, vision sees possibilities beyond the problems. All the spies acknowledged tha= t the land of Canaan was a good and broad land, flowing with milk and honey, abundant in resources. But what 10 of the 12 focused on, = and what made the wandering Hebrews so upset, were the problems that faced them= in conquering the land. Their ci= ties were fortified. There were lo= ts of them. And the people that liv= ed there were big old boys, gigantic even; they made the Hebrews feel like grasshoppers.

But Caleb and Joshua h= ad vision. They saw the possibil= ities beyond the problems. They saw= the good land that God had promised. They could envision Israel occupying the land and enjoying its blessings. So Caleb said, “Let’s = go for it!” Vision doesn’= ;t ignore the problems or discount the difficulties, but a vision born of faith refuses to let the obstacles determine the outcome.

Over half a century ag= o, Dr. Viktor Frankl wrote Man’s Sea= rch For Meaning, in my opinion one of the most important books of 20^{th
century thought. In the book =
and in
his speeches he told how his attitude of hope empowered him to survive the
experience of imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II=
. At one point, two of his fellow pri=
soners
were about to commit suicide. The
conditions were so horrible, and there was no hope of escape, so they were
going to take their own lives. But
Viktor Frankl encouraged them to live.&nbs=
p;
He reminded one that he still had children at home, and when the war=
was
over, they would need a father. The
other prisoner was a research scientist, and Frankl reminded him that his
expertise would be needed to rebuild Europe
after the war. Dr. Frankl, a
psychiatrist, envisioned himself in the future giving lectures on the
psychology of the concentration camp experience. These visions kept the priso=
ners
going through the difficult days of the war and gave them the willpower to =
survive.=
=
[3]}

Caleb and Joshua and A= aron and Moses had a vision, a positive picture of a preferred future. They could see the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. = It was a great place to live, the very place that God had promised to Abraham, Isa= ac, and Jacob. They could see the people of Israel inhabiting the land. They kep= t the vision, and eventually they won the victory. The dream came true. The possibility became their possession. Empowered by a Go= dly vision, they conquered!

Second, vision sees power beyond our capabilities. It’s one thing to see the possibilities, but how do we get there?&nb= sp; How are we going to conquer those giants and overrun those fortified cities? How are we going to overcome the difficulties in our own lives—the giants of sin and desp= air and death, the fortified cities of our enemies?

Caleb and Joshua did n= ot believe that the Hebrews could defeat all the people who were already livin= g in the land. But God could! Trusting in his power, they were a= lready assured of victory. Joshua sa= id, “The land that we went throug= h as spies is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and = give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only, do not rebel against the Lor= d; and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”[4] As Paul said centuries later in = his letter to Rome, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”[5] Answer: Nobody! We have p= ower beyond our capabilities, because our power is supernatural. So we can keep on moving toward the vision.

Jerry Van Auken of Kokomo, Indiana, tells about helping his son Aaron climb a large tree in their backyard. Aaron was only five years old, and= it was a big tree. When Jerry li= fted Aaron onto the tree's lowest branch, he panicked for fear of falling. His dad tried to coach him along, t= elling him to first kneel on the branch, then slowly stand up and climb to the cen= ter of the tree. But the only thing Aaron was concerned about was falling. He kept whining and crying, "I= 'm going to fall! I'm going to fall!"

Finally Jerry had to be gruff to get his son’s attention. “Aaron!” he shouted. &q= uot;Don't think about falling; think about climbing." Aaron thought hard about that for a moment, and then he proceeded to stand and climb to the center of the tree.= His fear was gone, and he was able = to do what he wanted.

The next week Aaron wa= nted to climb the same tree again. This time as Jerry lifted him onto the lowest branch, Aaron said, "Daddy, this time I will think about climbing.&quo= t; He climbed confidently right up into the middle of the tree.= = [6]

When life seems like an uphill climb, and we are overwhelmed with fear, and all we can do is to cry= out and be afraid of the falling, we need to remember the vision. We need to see power beyond our capabilities. We need to reme= mber that our Father stands with us, encouraging us, lifting us up, giving us directions. So we can accompl= ish the task. We can climb to the top. We can keep from falling= . Can you see that?

Third, vision sees the destination beyond the obstacles. Sure, there maybe rough times = ahead, and we have not yet arrived. = But there’s also a promised land ahead, and we’re going there now.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> One day we will get there, because= we are people of faith, and God is our God.

Caleb and Joshua looke= d at the land and saw the Hebrews living in the Promised Land. Almost everybody else saw the impossibility of the task ahead. The Back-to-Egypt Committee called a meeting: “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died i= n this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?&= #8221; So they said to one another, “Let us choose a captain, and go back to= Egypt.”= = [7] The Scripture says they were a= bout ready to stone Caleb and Joshua.

God was about ready to= wipe out the Hebrew people. The re= st of Numbers chapter 14 is a negotiation between Moses and God for the lives of = the Hebrew people. Finally God re= lented from destroying the lot of them and agreed to let them wander for 40 years = in the wilderness. After forty y= ears, the children of Isra= el entered the Promised Land. Of= the generation that was present that day only two survived to claim the promise= —Caleb and Joshua.

People of faith see the vision. Then they persevere t= oward the destination. They do not = give up. That’s how they mak= e a difference and achieve the victory.

Eugene Lang is a busin= essman who grew up in poverty. Recog= nized for his potential, Eugene was given an opportunity to attend college, and he went into business and became very successful. In 19= 63, he heard Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., give his “I Have A Dream” sp= eech at the march on Washington. Hearing King’s vision for an= America based on the values of freedom and equality for all people regardless of ra= ce planted a seed in the mind of Eugene Lang.

Eighteen years later, = in 1981, Lang was asked to give a commencement speech at his old high school, = P. S. 121 in the Harlem section of New York City. In that speech, he recalled Dr. King’s vision, and he challeng= ed each student in that school to have a dream for his or her life. For Lang, getting a good education= had been the key to rising out of poverty.&nbs= p; So this distinguished alumnus and successful businessman told those inner-city kids that anyone who graduated from P.S. 121 who could be accept= ed into any college would receive a full scholarship to get his or her degree. Eugene Lang would pay= for their college education.

With the promise of scholarships, the school put systems in place to encourage and support students, and in a short time, this high school in the ghetto, which had be= en averaging about 25% graduation rate, was graduating over 92% of its student= s. Suddenly there was a new possibility because of the vision of Eugene Lang.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Today he still operates the “= ;I Have A Dream” Foundaton and has a college that bears his name in New York City. The vision made the difference.= = [8]

At First United Method= ist Church of Hot Springs, we have a vision.&n= bsp; We have had a vision of ministry for a long time, but the new articulation of that vision is to be “a community of faith, connecting people to God, to each other, and to the world.” We are first of all a church, a community of Christian believers. We are diverse in many ways, but the one thing that holds us togethe= r is our faith in Jesus Christ. Our mission is to be a connecting community, connecting upward to God, connecti= ng inward to one another, and connecting outward to our community and our worl= d. We make those connections through proclamation—sharing the good news of Jesus Christ—through discipleship development, and through hospitalit= y, welcoming the stranger into our fellowship. That’s our vision in a nutshell. What if we took it seriously? What if being R= 20;a community of faith, connecting people to God, to each other, and to the world” became the controlling passion of our lives? What would our church look like in= ten years? What would Hot Springs look like in ten years? I believe both would be transformed. All it takes is = one person after another grasping the opportunity with another person to make t= hat connection—in Sunday School, in Vacation Bible School, at youth group= , in the office, in the classroom, = around the bridge table, at the doctor’s office<= /st1:PersonName>—and we’re on our way.

Let me challenge you t= oday to live with a vision. The Book of Proverbs puts it bluntly, “Where there is no v= ision, the people perish.”[9] Let connecting become you= r passion. See the possibilities beyond the problems. See the power beyon= d our capabilities. See the destina= tion beyond the obstacles. Be like Caleb, who said, “Let us go u= p at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”= [10] Be like Joshua, who said,= “If the Lord is pleased with us,= he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk= and honey. Only, do not rebel aga= inst the Lord, and do not fear…the Lord is with us.”= [11] Today God is with us, and he = has given us a vision. This is the heart of the Great Adventure! Amen!