The Enemies of Vision 2

The Enemies of Vision 2

By Apostle Felix

1  When Sanballat heard that we were reconstructing the wall, he flew into a rage, became indignant, and mocked the Jews.
2  He addressed his allies and the Samaritan officials, saying “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Are they intending to rebuild it by themselves? Do they intend to offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a single day? Can they make stones from this burned out rubble?”
3  Tobiah the Ammonite stood to the side, commenting, “If a fox were to jump onto what they’re building, it would collapse their stone wall!” 

Nehemiah 4: 1 – 3

Nehemiah had a vision of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, even though he faced fierce opposition from Sanballat. The vision, Nehemiah had was Christ centred, in the sense that it involved the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, which signified the peace of God. Jerusalem simply means, ‘City of peace.’ Nehemiah’s vision was Christocentric because it was aligned with the prophetic message of the Messiah. His vision was a typology of Jesus’ mission to earth to recreate the lives of people that had been destroyed by sin.

Nehemiah was in captivity in Persia, serving the king, Artaxerxes as a cup-bearer. He remained in Persia even after the exiled Israelites had gone back to Jerusalem. He remained serving in the royal Persian palace. He had a comfortable life, surrounded by all the fine things of life. But that was not enough to satisfy Nehemiah as long as the walls of Jerusalem were lying in ruins. A vision from God moves us from self-centredness to kingdom centredness. The problem many have is the sense of arrival when we experience a bit of comfort. Comfort does not mean the fulfillment of vision. There is a difference between vision and ambition. Ambition is more focused on what I can achieve for my personal satisfaction, while vision is inclusive of other people’s plight. Vision is ready to sacrifice for the betterment of other people’s lives. Jesus Christ is our ultimate example. He never lived and died for Himself, but for others. He had a vision of saving humanity.

3  Be free from pride-filled opinions, for they will only harm your cherished unity. Don’t allow self-promotion to hide in your hearts, but in authentic humility put others first and view others as more important than yourselves.
4  Abandon every display of selfishness. Possess a greater concern for what matters to others instead of your own interests.
5  And consider the example that Jesus, the Anointed One, has set before us. Let his mindset become your motivation.
6  He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. 

Philippians 2: 3 – 6

The worst enemy of vision is the misdirected focus. The self directed focus has killed and deprived our world of great resources that would have benefited humanity. The corruption in governments is due to misdirected focus. It is the focus that is more self centred than others. We have more self builder politicians than nation builders. They are more ambitious politicians than visionary leaders. And we do find corruption in the body of Christ because the message changed from dying to self to improving self. Most of the messages in church today are more centred on how to improve self. However, the apostolic message of the early church was about dying to self and allow Christ be formed in us. The message was, ‘I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.’

20  “My old identity has been co-crucified with Messiah and no longer lives; for the nails of his cross crucified me with him. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me—we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, and dispenses his life into mine! 

Galatians 2: 20

Vision should have the mission of Christ at its centre. Whether you are a business person, an employee or called into five-fold ministry, Christ should be at the centre of all that you are doing. Let your vision be Christ-driven as a child of God. The motivation should be about the kingdom of God, not only our comfort.