THE VISIONARY CHRISTIAN I
HYMN 26: STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS.
1. Stand up, stand up for Jesus! ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss:
From vict’ry unto vict’ry, His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.
2. Stand up, stand up for Jesus! The trumpet call obey:
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day;
Ye that are men now serve Him against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.
3. Stand up, stand up for Jesus! Stand in His strength alone,
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own;
Put on the gospel armor, and watching unto prayer,
Where calls the voice of duty, be never wanting there.
4. Stand up, stand up for Jesus! the strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song;
To him that overcometh a crown of life shall be;
He with the King of glory shall reign eternally.
MEMORISE:
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18
READ: Habakkuk 2:1-4
1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
MESSAGE
If a Christian is visionary, his/her pilgrimage on earth becomes bearable. It is a clear vision of heaven that will make a child of God see nothing enticing in the present world as compared to the anticipated eternal bliss.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverb 29:18
From the verse above, we can infer that the lack of vision about the reality of hell is what makes people carefree about the coming judgment on the ungodly. If God were to show a person a vision of heaven as Jesus described in Matthew 13:44-46, he/she would do everything possible to get there.
In Habakkuk 2:1-4, the prophet was eager to get divine vision and take instruction even if it required reproof. Fortunately, it was for his good and for those who would read it with understanding. It ended up as a warning against pride (which leads to destruction) and words of encouragement towards faith (which brings justification).
According to Psalm 53:1, it is only a fool that says there is no God. It is pride that makes an individual think that he knows better than God. Psalm 53:2 says it takes a visionary individual to seek God, especially in times like these, when everything seems to be against godliness.
It was a divine vision that ensured Noah and his household were saved from the flood (Hebrews 11:7). It is the same vision that will keep any Christian focused on holiness without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
With a divine vision, we can catch a glimpse of our eternal home like John did in Revelation 21:1-7. If you submit yourself to God, you too would see divinely inspired visions.
Prayer Point
Father, please make me a visionary Christian so that I will not lose the vision of my eternal home, in the mighty name of Jesus.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 65-67.
Psalm 69-70.
