Welcome to our Together on Mission podcast, we need to be with and like Jesus, as we begin a conversation with Jesus in the morning, a scripture, prayer, and meditation, and then continue that conversation with him throughout your day. Your host is Travis pointed, the pastor at the In the Vineyard Church in World California. In this season, podcast will be taking deeper infrastructure each and every day, exploring the ways that we can help Jesus and build our relationship with us. It's a grab your pen, buy a little coffee, and let's welcome Pastor Travis.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the daily together on Mission Podcasts and Travis, and it's so good to be with all of you, we are friends, they're friends of Jesus, and these last few podcasts, we've been in the gospel of Luke, we're gonna be in the gospel of Luke for, well at least today, maybe a bit longer. In this morning, I wanna talk about vision, that word that excites us and scares us just a bit of vision. And I wanna put my finger on the fact that there is something in us, whether we can tap or not, that wants to go for it, whatever that might look like, right, to go after it, to get it, to do it, right, to set that goal and achieve it, to have a vision of the future, because vision really does deal with the future. Like we must go there, we must get there, that must be accomplished or done or finished or whatever, and I must go after it, and it could be vocational vision, right, it could have to do with work and projects, and strategy and moving forward, it could have to do with relational, vision for our lives, or our dating relationship, marriage, family, it could be overall health, all spheres of life can involve this beautiful word, vision, and one of the wisest people that are living said that people perish without vision.
And when we're operating in vision, it's like, I gotta remove that obstacle, I gotta, there's a wall, I gotta go around, I gotta go over, I gotta go through it. And the reason why is because this must get done, this needs to get accomplished, and I believe I'm called to do it, and I may even be called to inspire other people to go with me because we must get there, and we really can't be okay here because God is calling us there. Now, is what I just described, good or bad? Is it ambition, or is it very much a part of what it looks like that he made in the image of God?
And we need a conduit for just a moment. Because often, and here's really the point of the podcast this morning, I hope this to be a firming podcast. Often, for the only aspects of Jesus' life they're talked about are the contemplative aspects of the life of Jesus. How Jesus paused, which we talked about a few podcasts to go, how he would spend all night praying, how he was present in the moment.
And again, those elements of Jesus' of Nazareth must get pressed, but Jesus was functioning not only in rest, but also in action, not only in contentment, but also with big vision. And so that brings us to Luke chapter nine, verse 51, at that time, Jesus was approaching this city, when he started in verse 51. As the time approached for Jesus to be taken up into the heavens, and here's this incredible phrase, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And that really is the only verse I'm gonna read this one.
Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem, and the text goes on to talk about how he passed through his Samaritan village in order to get to Jerusalem, that Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. Jesus is going somewhere. And we actually miss the gospel of Luke, if we miss that Jesus is going after a vision. He is resolutely focused, determined, passionate.
And older translation says that Jesus said he's face like Flint, he's firm, he's unrelenting. I think a good word would be he unflinchingly is going to Jerusalem because he has something to accomplish there. And yes, Jesus often stopped, but honestly, they stopped, let's think about this for a moment, it's stopped, we're a pause or enjoying the moment, and it only makes sense when we're going somewhere. You know, we can make a great argument through the life of Jesus and the action of God throughout within the history that God is in motion, that God is going somewhere, that God is about a project of redemption, new creation that God is the ultimate vision castor and without vision, people, parish, in fact, if God did not have a vision, we would all parish, and so Jesus is on the move.
And we're called to be on the move to set our face like Flint, to resolutely move forward something. We see that Paul, later on in the book of Acts, is on the move, actually when we read the gospel of Luke and read the book of Acts, we see this movement, this vision where the proclamation of the gospel starts in Nazareth and goes to Jerusalem, and then when Acts picks up, the announcement of the gospel starts in Jerusalem, then goes to Judean scenario, and it goes to the ends of the earth and the culmination of the Luke Acts narrative is Paul preaching the gospel unhindered in Rome. So it starts in this little town called Galilee, and it ends up being announced unhindered in Rome right under Caesar's nose. I mean, this is movement, this is vision, and this is who God is and it's who Jesus is.
And so think about vision, think about what God is done in your heart, what is he calling you to do, or to be? What is the vision for family, for a dating relationship, for vocation, for an endeavor where is God moving on you? And often we've been told that being still is spiritual and that too much movement is unspiritual, that's just a false dichotomy. We already still know that God is God, and rest in God's sufficiency.
Can we call the take hold of that for which Christ is taken? Hold of us in that false vision and condition and vision and planning and strategy and goal setting and moving toward that goal and all kinds of stuff. So if you find vision in your heart, if you find a picture of the future in your heart, if you find that there, God put that there. It's a purpose for your future in others' future.
If you find your heart and mind moving toward goal setting and strategy and what is it gonna look like to get there? And being a bit dissatisfied with here, God has placed that in your heart, and that is good, it is very, very good. So part of what I believe the spirit of God wants to do this morning is to affirm in you vision, mission, growth, going somewhere, building something, doing something, just like Jesus here in Luke 9, Jesus, resolutely set out for Jerusalem, and he went after it. He went all with the encounter, he went through, he went around, he went over, and he marched toward his vision and his goal and let's not forget that the final thing that Jesus of Nazareth said before he gave up the spirit, it is finished, it is accomplished, it is done.
Jesus of Nazareth was a man on mission, and the spirit of God will call you and I to be people, on vision, just like Jesus, because we bear the image of God who is indeed in motion. We'll talk soon. Thanks for listening to Together On Mission Podcast. We truly hope that you were blessed and encouraged by you today.
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