Proverbs chapter 29
Today we are walking in: Purpose And Vision
Habakkuk 2:2
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
VISION
Today we look to the word VISION- H2377 chazown- vision(in ecstatic state), visions (in night), oracle, prophecy (divine communication), vision (as title of book of prophecy) from H2372; a sight (mentally), i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle:—vision. to see, perceive, look, behold, prophesy, provide, to see, behold, to see as a seer in the ecstatic state, to see, perceive with the intelligence, to see (by experience), to provide
The Torah testifies........
Numbers 24:4
He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision H2377 of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
Numbers 24:16
He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High, which saw the vision H2377 of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
The prophets proclaim.........
1 Samuel 3:1
And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days;there was no open vision H2377.
Jeremiah 14:14
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision H2377 and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
The writings bear witness.........
1 Chronicles 17:15
According to all these words, and according to all this vision H2377, so did Nathan speak unto David.
Psalm 89:19
Then thou spakest in vision H2377 to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
Purpose and Vision
Purpose gives precision to life.
Whenever I go on a trip, my secretary hands me an itinerary of what lies ahead. It lists where I will go, who I will see, how long I will stay and where I will go after I leave that place. Much of the information in my itinerary deals with night numbers, arrival and departure times, the time zone of the new location and the names of the town to which I am going, the hotel in which I will be staying and the place in which I will be speaking.
In many ways, that itinerary organizes my schedule like purpose organizes my life. The value of known purpose cannot be overestimated, for it is the foundation upon which man must build his life. Life with purpose is precise and directed. It allows you to wake up in the morning confident that you know what you are supposed to do with the day. Life without purpose is depressing. Much needless energy is expended and much time is wasted as you move from one activity to another, busy but not focused. Purpose has this organizing value because it provides a vision, which motivates a plan of action to meet specific goals.
Purpose Provides Vision
The twenty-ninth chapter of the Book of Proverbs states: “Where there is no vision, the people perish ...” (Proverbs 29:18a KJV) The New International Version translates this verse as follows: “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint ...” This is true because purpose provides a reason for existence. It encourages maximized performance toward an intended result. Or, to say it another way, purpose is destination—the end toward which something exists—and predestination—going back to start after seeing the outcome. When you know the desired end before you begin the journey, you are much more likely to stick with your task and stay on the prescribed path. Apart from purpose, direction is lacking and nothing of importance happens. Vision, then, is the direct result of purpose, providing the impetus to act on the direction set by purpose.
Defining Vision
The most common understanding of vision is “seeing,” though that is not a completely accurate definition. Vision is more than seeing, for it moves beyond mere physical sight. Although the Greek word opticia (from which we get the words optical and optician, both of which deal with the eyes) is sometimes used in the New Testament to refer to vision, hazons, the most common Hebrew word for vision, means both “to see” and “coming into being.” Thus, from a biblical perspective, vision is the ability to see the end from the beginning.
Webster defines vision as “the ability to perceive something not actually visible, as through mental acuteness or keen foresight.” Thus, vision looks not at what is presently happening, but at what could or should be happening. It shows you something that has not yet taken place and registers it in your heart and mind. Vision is also “unusual discernment or insight” since it presents a picture of the unseen and convinces you that it will come to pass. Vision never stands alone. It always originates from a known purpose. Vision is a glimpse of purpose.
Vision Sets Goals, Which Motivate a Plan of Action
The primary value of purpose is the translation of vision derived from purpose into a plan of action. This occurs through the setting of specific goals. The presence of goals allows for both the development of a plan and the effective use of energy as all efforts are put into the fulfillment of the purpose. Purpose maximizes energy and gives time meaning. Purpose protects you from being busy but not effective.
Or to say it another way, purpose that is translated into a vision causes things to happen and people to act. This is true because purpose creates vision, vision produces goals, goals permit the development of a plan and a plan allows for an orderly journey.
Picture, for a moment, a train station with no tracks. Far in the distance walks a man, coming toward the station. Under his arm he carries wooden planks that he is throwing down before him, building the tracks to the station. The man’s goal is to use planks to build a track to the station, which is his desired destination. His vision is the completed track, and his plan is the building of the track by throwing down the planks. Thus, the realization of his goal through the implementation of his plan will take him from his present position to the desired end, so that his vision of the completed track and his purpose of reaching the station are fulfilled.
Goals Are Steps Toward a Desired End
Goals are steps toward the attainment of a larger purpose. They create priorities, determine decisions, dictate companions and predict choices. Together they form the preferred flight plan to the desired destination. Let’s examine how this process works by using the image of an airline ticket and the company that stands behind it.
Long before I can book a flight or receive a ticket for a specific destination, some person had a purpose that gave birth to a vision that led to the setting of goals and the development of a plan. A purpose to provide safe air travel in the Western Hemisphere with quality service at affordable prices may have been prompted by too many business trips with extended layovers, canceled flights and delays caused by mechanical failures. In any case, the founder of an airline considers the possibility of starting a new airline and purposes to do so.
This purpose leads to a vision of planes servicing the entire Western Hemisphere, flying from Canada to Argentina, and everywhere in between. In his mind’s eye, the soon-to-be airline executive sees his company’s insignia on airplanes traveling throughout South America, Central America, the Caribbean, the United States and Canada.
Fueled by his purpose and the accompanying vision, the originator of the vision calls in trusted friends and colleagues with whom he shares his thoughts. Others catch his vision and a new airline is founded for the stated purpose of providing safe, economical, quality air service to the Western Hemisphere.
Goals Encourage the Development of a Plan
Having a vision and receiving what you have envisioned are two very different things. Guided by their shared vision, the business man and his friends set goals for this corporation, determining when the flights will begin, which cities will be serviced by the initial service, what the desired profit margin will be and who will take primary responsibility for each area of operation. As these goals develop into a detailed plan, the person responsible for each facet of the business sets goals for their specific areas of operation and develops plans to meet these more specific goals.
Goals Dictates Companions
After the primary and secondary goals have been set and plans have been developed to meet each objective, the founding committee begins to seek those people who can help them to accomplish their purpose. Guided by their desire to offer quality service at affordable prices, they hire a research firm to survey the present airline market to see which flight routes are profitable and/or underserviced, and a financial consulting group to help them raise capital and develop an operating budget. Their aspiration to maintain safe, well-equipped airplanes prompts them to seek a highly-experienced airplane mechanic and a test pilot with an impeccable reputation. Together they will purchase the planes.
Finally, their ambition to provide quality service leads them to hire a personnel director who will initially oversee the development of a standard of service—after researching current airline standards—and later the hiring and management of company employees. Each of these decisions is based on the original purpose to provide safe, affordable, distinctive air service throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Goals Inform Decisions
As each of these people becomes part of the management team for the new corporation, they are charged with the responsibility of making their decisions based on the collective goals and purposes of the company. No one can pursue his own agenda if it detracts from the overall purpose of the plan. The financial consultant, for example, cannot require the mechanic to purchase an airplane that meets the budget guidelines but is not completely safe. Nor can the personnel director offer salaries and benefits beyond the means of the company. The choices each makes to fulfill his individual purpose must be influenced by the overall purpose of the company. No one aspect can be sacrificed for the others, or the company’s reason for existence will be jeopardized. Purpose affects everyone’s selections.
Goals Predict Choices
Purpose also serves as a guide for determining the best path to a predetermined end. Like a pilot’s flight plan, it determines not only the final destination but also the best route on any given day to reach that destination. No pilot leaves the ground without a flight plan. Before he climbs into the cockpit of the plane, he carefully studies the maps, comp asses and other instruments that can help him establish the safest, most direct course to reach the predetermined destination. Then he consults with air traffic control to determine where he needs to adjust his speed or altitude to allow for bad weather or other airplanes. Only after he has completed this task and received a stamped flight plan will he be permitted to guide the plane into the air.
Thus, when the pilot sits in the cockpit and presses the ignition to start the engines, he has with him both the end of the journey and the intended path to reach that end. Unlike a ticket holder who has only the vision of the final destination, the pilot knows both the final destination and the safest way to reach that airport. The choices he makes on the path to the final destination will always be guided by purpose and the goals related to purpose.
Goals Create Priorities
Even as goals directed by purpose predict choices, they also create priorities. If the new airline sets the first of September as the target date to begin service on the west coast of the United States, the research firm will not focus their attention on the east coast. That sphere of service will not be a priority. Likewise, if the goals include the objective of purchasing planes by the first of July, the financial consulting group will have to make the procurement of funds a priority so that this can happen. Purpose informs goals, which define priorities.
Purpose Provides a Measurement of Progress
As each target date on the master plan and the departmental plans passes, the executives are able to determine how well they are progressing toward their goal. If July passes into August, and the mechanic and the pilot have not yet procured any planes, the target date of September for beginning service on the west coast becomes doubtful. If, however, service on the west coast begins in mid-August, and additional planes have been purchased to begin service in the Caribbean, the organizing committee knows that they are farther toward fulfilling their purpose than they had expected to be at that point.
Without goals guided by purpose and the resulting vision, they would know that they are making progress, but they wouldn’t have any idea whether that progress matches their plans for that specified time. The value of these goal-informed evaluations cannot be overemphasized because life without specific, measurable objectives is vague and haphazard.
Obviously the above description of the process of beginning a new airline is very simplistic, but I think it provides an understanding of the value of known purpose. Known purpose enhances all of life, enabling a decisive, intentional perspective. This precise, deliberate perspective was visible in Yahusha’ life.
Yah’s Timeless Plan
Yah is the source of all purpose. His plan to save mankind was the guiding purpose behind Yahusha’ coming to earth and all that He did and said while He was here. This purpose dictated His companions, predicted His choices, created priorities in His life, determined His decisions and provided a measure for progress.
Yahusha made choices that fulfilled His destined purpose.
Throughout His life, Yahusha was guided by the Father’s predetermined will. In His baptism, He formally began to walk in that way by choosing to be baptized to “fulfill all righteousness.” He who was sinless certainly did not need to be baptized for the remissions of sins, but Yahusha was careful to do all that Yah had laid out for Him:
Then Yahusha came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” Yahusha replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:13-15).
His purpose predicted His choices. Again and again, the Scriptures record that Yahusha acted in a certain manner to fulfill what Yah had predestined:
When Yahusha heard that John had been put in prison, He returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah ... From that time on Yahusha began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:12-14,17).
Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17).
... the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Yahusha. Aware of this, Yahusha withdrew from that place. Many followed Him, and He healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who He was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah ... (Matthew 12:14-17)
Yahusha made decisions based on His purpose.
After His baptism, the Spirit of Yah led Yahusha into the wilderness. As He fasted there for forty days and nights, Yahusha came face to face with the reality of His purpose. He needed to set the reason for which He had been sent into the world firmly in His heart and mind so that He would not be deterred from fulfilling all that Yah have given Him to do. As He communed with the Spirit, satan came to Him with three challenges:
The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of Yah, tell these stones to become bread.” ... Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of Yah,” he said, “throw yourself down.” ... Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:3,5-6a,8-9).
These challenges thrust at the heart of Yahusha’ person and message. Had He given into even one of the tempter’s demands, He would have forfeited His purpose, for only One who was without sin could offer Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. Each time Hasatan tempted Him, Yahusha responded to Hasatan’s taunts by repeating the Word of the Lord. Because He was secure in His relationship with the Father, He could be committed to the Father’s purpose for His life. At any time He could have used His divine powers, but Yahusha chose to follow the path set before Him so that, through Him, you and I might discover our purpose.
Yahusha’ purpose influenced who He spent time with.
The value of purpose in Yahusha’ life is also seen in the people whose lives He touched. He came not just for the wealthy and the prestigious, though He certainly loved them, but He came also for the outcasts of society. Yahusha’ compassion for these “sinners” was particularly evident in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son (Luke 15:1-32).
Yahusha’ desire to fulfill His purpose is also seen in the story of a tax collector named Zacchaeus. Tax collectors were hated by the Hebrews because these collectors worked for the Romans against their own people and often took more than the required taxes. They were also avoided by the Romans-except for the business of obtaining the required taxes—because they were Hebrews. This left tax collectors outside much of society. Yet it was to the home of Zacchaeus that Yahusha went for dinner one night.
When Yahusha reached the spot [where Zacchaeus was watching from a tree], He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed Him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Yahusha said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house ... For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:5-10).
Yahusha allowed His purpose to determine His priorities.
As the time for the fulfillment of His purpose drew near, Yahusha began to speak of His coming death. His followers were upset. They could not believe what they heard. This was not the Messiah’s destiny. Even Peter, one of Yahusha’ most intimate friends, could not comprehend a suffering Messiah:
[Yahusha] then began to teach [His disciples] that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when Yahusha turned and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter. “Get behind Me, satan!” He said. “You do not have in mind the things of Yah, but the things of men” (Mark 8:31-33).
How awful for Peter. Instead of taking his advice, Yahusha was rebuking him in front of the other disciples. But Yahusha could not allow Peter to stand between Him and the Crucifixion Stake. His purpose could not be served by Peter’s desires. Whether His friends went with Him or not, Yahusha was determined to stay on course. Even as He wrestled in the garden of Gethsemane with the suffering the fulfillment of His purpose would require (Luke 22:39-46), Yahusha resolved not to avoid anything Yah had predestined for His time on earth. He knew that the Crucifixion Stake was a priority that overrode even the considerations of friendship, because death and resurrection were Yah’s plan for His life.
Yahusha remained true to His purpose until He completed Yah’s plans.
Purpose is a driving force. Against the greatest of odds, it propels those who are committed to Yah’s plans through the worst of experiences. Betrayed, denied, beaten, crucified, Yahusha remained true to His destiny. He trusted the Father with His life (Luke 23:46) and yielded completely to His Yah-ordained destination. As the agony of hanging on the Crucifixion Stake came to an end, “Yahusha said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).
Yahusha did what Yah sent Him to do. The barrier between Yah and man was broken forever and the curtain in the temple that separated Yah from His people was “torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38). Sin can no longer stand firmly between Yah and His children because “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). To all who receive Hamachiach Yahusha, “to those who believe in His name, He [gives] the right to become children of Yah—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of Yah” (John 1:12-13).
Purpose, the Ultimate Pursuit
Purpose is the most valuable treasure you can find because it takes you beyond temptations, misunderstandings, the unfaithfulness of family and friends and even death itself. Thus, the passion for knowing and fulfilling purpose that was evident throughout Yahusha’ life must also be found in your life. Without that commitment to Yah’s vision and the submission to Yah that allows Him to empower all that you do and say, you will forfeit your reason for being.
Choose now to make the fulfillment of purpose the passion of your life. Then set some goals to help you measure your progress. Finally, remain open to Yah’s leading and direction as you follow His plans.
PRINCIPLES
1. Purpose creates a vision.
2. Vision produces goals.
3. Goals determine the necessary steps toward the desired end.
Goals dictate companions.
Goals determine decisions.
Goals predict choices. Goals create priorities.
Goals provide a measure for progress.
4. A plan incorporates and unifies the designated steps toward the efficient fulfillment of purpose.
HE, that being often reproved hardens his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked bear rule, the people mourn. Whoso loves wisdom rejoices his father: but he that keeps company with harlots spends his substance. The king by judgment establishes the land: but he that receives gifts overthrows it. A man that flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous sings and rejoices. The righteous considers the cause of the poor: but the wicked regards not to know it. Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath. If a wise man contends with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest. The bloodthirsty hate the yashariym: but the just seek his soul. A fool utters all his mind: but a wise man keeps it in till afterwards. If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. The poor and the deceitful man meet together: Yahuah lightens both their eyes. The king that faithfully judges the poor, his throne shall be established forever. The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself brings his mother to shame. When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases: but the righteous shall see their fall. Correct your son, and he shall give you rest; yea, he shall give delight unto your soul. Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that guards the Torah, happy is he. A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer. See a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. He that delicately brings up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length. An angry man stirs up strife, and a furious man abounds in transgression. A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in ruach. Whoso is partner with a thief hates his own soul: he hears cursing, and bewrays it not. The fear of man brings a snare: but whoso puts his trust in Yahuah shall be safe. Many seek the ruler's favor; but every man's judgment comes from Yahuah. An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked. MISHLEI (PROVERBS) 29:1-27את CEPHER
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