So why did I just tell you about these two passages? It’s because they teach us about vision. In the story of the bronze snake, the Israelites were presented with a choice. They could either look at the snakes that were biting and killing them, or they could choose to look at the bronze snake. If they looked at the snakes biting them, they would die. If they looked at the bronze snake they would live. In Joseph’s story, he was presented with a choice. He could look at all his problems and give up on life, or he could choose to look at God. Let’s read Genesis 45:8. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” Joseph chose to believe that God had a plan for his life. Joseph believed that it was God who was in control of his life, not his problems. Paul too was presented with a choice. We spoke at the beginning how Paul had been in captivity for years. He was falsely accused, flogged, and wrongly kept in captivity. Yet we read earlier that Paul considered himself fortunate to speak to King Agrippa. How could Paul possibly consider himself fortunate? It’s because he never lost his vision. Paul had a choice, just like the Israelites had a choice in the wilderness; does he choose to look at the snakes biting him, or the bronze snake? He had a choice, just like Joseph did; does he choose to look at all of his problems, or does he choose to look at God? Paul chose to focus on his vision. In his own words, he was obedient to the vision from heaven. What was Paul’s vision? His vision is in verses 16-18. “16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” The fulfilment of his vision is in verses 20-23. “20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.” The fulfilment of Paul’s vision was the fact that he always testified to others about his faith. Paul never lost sight of his heavenly vision, and was testifying about his faith even in this passage.
It may not always seem like it, but we are presented with a choice. Are we going to choose to look at the snakes that are biting us, or the bronze snake? Imagine if you were the Israelites at that time. There are a bunch of snakes, all attacking you. Our natural reaction is to freak out. Where do we naturally look? We would look at the snakes, and try to defend ourselves. It is completely against our nature to look away from the snakes, yet that is what was necessary in order to live. If the Israelites wanted to live, they would have to focus their vision on the bronze snake. Similar to Joseph, we all have problems that we have to deal with in life. It may not be as extreme as Joseph’s challenges, but there will be things that challenge us. It’s natural for us to focus on our problems, and to try and fix them ourselves. They can burden us and cause us to lose our vision. We have to keep our vision on Christ. Some of you may be wondering, what is a vision? Do I really have to see a physical vision? No, God can give us visions in many ways, not just through our physical eyes. Or you may ask, what if I never had a vision? There is a very simple answer to that question; pray. Pray that God would give you a vision and a calling. But even if you have not had a specific vision for your life, there’s a vision that we all share; Matthew 28:19-20 “19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Sound familiar? It should. Our vision should be to see everyone turn to Christ. How do we fulfil this vision? We have to testify, as Paul did. Will everyone accept our testimony? Absolutely not. Look at verse 28, “28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’” King Agrippa didn’t believe in Paul’s testimony. This didn’t stop Paul, because Paul was following his vision. Remember when I read Matthew 28:19-20? What did I leave out? Does anyone know? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” When we have trouble testifying about Jesus, remember that He is always with us. Paul truly believed this in His heart. Philippians 4:13, “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” Paul depended on God when He had trouble testifying. And believe me, Paul had many troubles and challenges. Lastly, we have to remember that following our vision requires more than testifying with our mouths. It requires testifying with our lives also. Then we will have both our witness testimony, and our evidence. Let’s read the key verse. “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”
-Smart
Thanks for reading! I hope you were encouraged by God's word.
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