F4F | Jeremy Foster: How is Your Vision?

Welcome to another installment of fighting for the faith. My name is Chris Rose, bro. I am your servant in Jesus Christ. This is the channel that compares what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God.

Ezekiel 37 and the Valley of the Dry Bones

Now if you've ever heard a bad sermon on Ezekiel 37, you know the valley of the dry bones. Yeah, go ahead and hit the subscribe button down below. Don't forget to like the video and ring the bell ring the bell.

Yeah, all of these will help you out in the next installment of prophecy bingo. Just trust me. Plus they help us out a little bit too. So today we're going to be heading over to Hope City Church, and we're gonna listen to Jeremy Foster the vision casting leader there we've never reviewed him before and and I'll note this is that this is going to be a very convoluted twisting of Ezekiel 37 in the valley of the dry bones, and if you followed this channel for any length of time.

Then you know that. Well, we cover it with some regularity guys who Biffett when it comes to Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37 the valley of the dry bones. God gives the vision. God gives the interpretation of the vision in the exact chapter.

In fact, we'll review that again before we get too far into the sermon Jeremy Foster is you know. One of the latest guys who's the up-and-coming star within the seeker driven vision casting purpose driven attractional church movement and Boy, I'll tell you this sermon gives me anxiety.

And the reason it gives me anxiety is just because the things he's saying that God wants from me number one. They're not in the text. But number two, they really kind of paint God out in a way that makes it seem like it's very difficult to figure out.

Hey what he's up to and to what he wants me to do as a Christian. I'll explain it along the way so let's whirl up our desktop and and let's take a look at our Web browser here and the name of the sermon will be listening to a portion of his title.

How is your vision? We're gonna listen to a long stretch of this one and see if we can make any sense of it. We will be in Ezekiel 37 if you want to open up your Bible and get ready, but let's get to it.

The Great Commission and the Mission of the Church

I believe I.

Believe I've got a word for you this weekend. I'm gonna preach straight strong and not too long. But I believe that God if you allow him to will shift the way you think.

Okay, this is a slogan God if you allow him to he's gonna shift the way you think. Okay, all right, so I Understand what repentance is. Repentance metanoia. The Greek is to change your mind. And so there is a there is a right way as Christians that we recognize that God changes our mind.

How does he do it through his word rightly preached rightly handled?

So, okay. Here's the truth. God has a vision for our world, but it's not just a vision for our world. He has a vision for our city as a vision for our church.

Okay. Now immediately I got his has a question where in Scripture does it say God has a vision for our world for your city and for a unique vision for your church now. My first master's degree. I have to my first master's degree is in Is in business administration.

I have an MBA from Pepperdine University with an emphasis and leadership and organizational change. Yeah, I spent a long time in the corporate world. That being the case. Over and again what we've seen over the past few decades is the church mimicking the practices of the corporate world.

Where a corporation needs to have a very very focused and well-defined mission and vision statement. So that they can stay on task. And that they can thrive and and in earn profits where where there is mission creep and organizations.

You know corporations drift away from their core competencies and and the vision for which they were created. Oftentimes those corporations will find themselves on the rocks and then disappearing and going the way of the dodo and the dinosaur.

Now that being the case I'm gonna point out that There is one Church one church and. And that one church has the same marching orders from Jesus Christ. And so we're gonna go into our biblical text here and we're gonna look at two passages respectively.

First we're gonna look at Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28. Oh, what did I do here? No, I misspelled it is what I did. I hate when I do that. Creeping decrepitude. Okay, let's see here. I do need to tell it that I want to look for Verses and I do need to spell this correctly.

Let's try this all over again. Matthew 28. There we go now in Matthew 28, we have that portion of Scripture where we we recognize What we call the the Great Commission and so the Great Commission. Consider this to be you know Jesus's mission statement for the church.

Matthew 28 16 now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them and when they saw him they worshipped him, but some doubted and Jesus came to them and he's here's what he said.

First words are actually quite important. All authority in heaven on earth has been given to me. He's the guy calling the shots in heaven and earth now. So here's our marching orders go therefore and go is is a participle.

Many people think that's the imperative. No, it's actually the making disciples part. That's the imperative as you are going make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then listen to the last part teaching them to observe all that I have commanded and Behold, I am with you always even to the end of the age.

So teaching them to observe all that I have commanded which basically tells us okay, so the only thing that the church is authorized to teach is The commands and teachings of Christ where we're gonna find that answer.

That only exists in the written Word of God and so the church. All of us who are Christians are to be about the business of making disciples. Baptizing in the name of the triune God Father Son and Holy Spirit.

Teaching all that Christ has commanded being a Christian. Being a disciple of Jesus as learners then we have to be learning the same thing and all that's found in Scripture. Seems pretty straightforward.

So that's what your church should be doing. That's what my church should be doing and note here I'm using the word church now when we're talking about local congregations as Smaller congregations within the wider body of Christ the entire body of Christ has been given the job of making disciples and Teaching all that Christ has commanded which requires sound doctrine and things of that nature.

Now the second part of this then Is is going to be found in the Gospel of Luke and in the Gospel of Luke? We have Jesus giving his own version of the of the Great Commission and In in those words, it's actually quite Fascinating that there that you can kind of see how the two go together and so here's what Jesus says.

It's in Luke chapter 24 starting at 45 so then Christ opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the Dead and that repentance and the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.

Beginning from Jerusalem and you are witnesses of these things behold I am sending the promise of the Father upon you and so you get the idea. So you can kind of take the two together. Make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit teaching all that Christ has commanded which means rightly preaching and teaching the written Word of God and then and then you'll note then that this is affected through the proclamation the preaching of the Repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Christ, which means you have to properly distinguish between law and gospel and your church my church all churches that are Christian churches are under these orders and Your church doesn't get to opt out.

My church doesn't get to opt out. We are all to be about this business and no Smaller congregation within the broader body of Christ has a unique vision for it and there is no single Text that one that says anything we even remotely approaching this.

So one of the major tenets then of the secret driven movement is that God has a unique vision for individual churches. And so if you attend a church that believes this nonsense and it is nonsense. Then at with some regularity at least once a year you're gonna have what's called vision Sunday.

Where the the vision casting leader is going to again cast for the congregation. They're in the what they believe to be the individual vision that God has called this particular congregation to achieve.

No, we're all under the same orders. Period there's only one church. Yeah, that's right one. Not a whole bunch of them. There's only one and all Sub congregations of the one church are Under the same mission and vision statements given by Christ making disciples baptizing teaching all the Christ is commanded.

Proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins in his name period if your church isn't doing that or about that. Then they have bucked Jesus who is the one to whom all authority has been given and they're gonna have to explain why they're not with the program why They have a competing vision than the one that Christ has given to the whole church.

Just saying All right, so let's go back here as we listen to Jeremy Foster you know kind of spew this weird seeker driven purpose driven stuff and then he's going to apply this in a weird way to Ezekiel 37 and I'll note how he's twisting Ezekiel 37 here and more uniquely than all of that.

Vague Vision-Casting and the Anxiety It Creates

God has a vision for you. In fact, he cannot.

He will not.

Accomplish what he wants to accomplish in the world without using you. You were a part of this plan.

Where in the Bible does it say that? God has accomplished a whole lot of stuff without me and after I'm gone. It'll accomplish probably even more. Where which biblical text says these things. So, you know going back to our Our episode we talked about quad non s biblical non s theological.

This is the angels activating angels episode. We did a couple of days ago. If it's not in the Bible, it's not theology. So he's putting forward these these doctrines that cannot be found in the Bible.

They're not found anywhere and these false doctrines. These man-made doctrines are front-loaded in the beginning of the sermon and are going to impact.

How he handles the Word of God and how many believe God wants to do something unique through you. The challenge is sometimes we get our vision off of what God is doing and we ask God to bless what we are doing.

We get our vision off of what God is doing and then we ask God to bless what we are doing. One of the first people I heard this hot mess from was Dan Sutherland. In fact years and years ago We did a series of episodes on fighting for the faith called, you know the the purpose-driven hostile takeover of your church kind of thing and The hostile takeover tactics of the purpose-driven movement something like that.

We'll put a link to the to the podcast episodes down below and Dan Sutherland Basically was saying listen God's not gonna bless what you want to do. You've got to find what he's doing in the world and then join him in it and he because he's only blessing what he's doing.

I mean, this is nonsense and not only that it's like well How do I find what God is doing in the world so I can join him in it? And why would what do you mean? God's not gonna bless what I want to do.

I've got to find what he's doing because that's what he's blessing again. No text says this and you're gonna note then that this kind of preaching creates all kinds of anxiety within the person believing it.

Because.

There's no clarity to it. How do I find what God's doing in the world and join him, how do I do this? So let me back him up a few seconds and I want you to hear again. Again, the statement is not found in the Bible.

But you know, you know makes you just go. Well, I I got to find what God's doing then I guess listen to what he said without using you.

You were a part of this plan. How many believe God wants to do something unique through you? The challenge is sometimes we get our vision off of what God is doing and we ask God to bless what we are doing.

What would happen if we as a church. If you as an individual. If you as a family you said God, what are you doing? I want to do what you're already blessing. I tell you this if you're at Hope City, you're watching Hope City.

God what are you doing? Because I want to do what you're already blessing. Where is this time in the Bible? It's not this is nonsense. And and again is people sitting there going I. How does one practically apply this?

Yeah, it's it it takes Christianity and it just makes it so vague and unclear. So I better ask God. So God, what are you doing? Because I want to do the things you're currently blessing right now. No Bible text talks like this.

No disciple or Apostle ever talk like this. No prophet of God spoke in this way. You listen to Hope City.

You're somehow connected to Hope City. Then God has called you to accomplish the purpose that God has called us to accomplish.

Okay. Now that's kind of an important bit I'm gonna back this up again. Listen to what he says and pay attention. He really is of the belief that Hope City in Texas This is a seeker driven multi-site that they have a unique vision and That the job of the people who are there is to accomplish that unique vision but their unique vision is different than the Great Commission and That's a problem.

Christ doesn't give unique visions to individual congregations all.

All.

Congregations within the one true church are called to make disciples of all nations baptizing in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit Teaching all that Christ has commanded and to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins in his name.

Every single church. There are no unique visions given to individual congregations. That's a flat-out man-made lie from the the pit of Saddleback Church.

If you're at Hope City, you're watching Hope City, you're listening to Hope City. You're somehow connected to Hope City. Then God has called you to accomplish the purpose that God has called us to accomplish.

No, that's not right. That's not taught in the Bible.

Anyway, I'll just sit you out there and say hey, I'm gonna do something unique just through you and you alone. No, it's a collective purpose of all of us. But if we're not careful, we won't see clearly what God's trying to do.

So we got to be careful. Otherwise, well, we won't see what he's trying to do. How does one see what God is trying to do? I mean, this is really really vague and ambiguous.

Now I've had a problem for a long time. Some of y 'all could probably name a few of them. But with my right eye my right eye since I was a little kid, it was just not really good. In fact a few years ago I went to an eye doctor and she said actually People that I see with the condition that you have in your right eye like they go blind before the age of 20 and she was like you should like you shouldn't be able to see and I was.

Like thank you Jesus for a miracle that I received. I don't even know I received because I can still see y 'all. You look a little like y 'all look better than you've ever looked. Right now I'll just tell you right now I can't see right like you could come up and sucker punch me on this side like Once and then it's gonna be on.

I got about a good 30 seconds. It'll be like pop up. Like that's all I got after that. I'm too old. Um, it's Texas Church. God bless you. But something happened this year that has never happened before and some of you have experienced this.

I opened up my Bible and My arms weren't long enough. Some of y 'all youngsters are like what I only know what you mean and so for the first time You boy I had to get some glasses.

Now.

I've always wanted to have glasses while I preach because I feel like they make you preach better. You know like the bishop reads. And then he says now what I'm trying to get you to see. So y 'all be ready.

The glasses anointing is on me. The challenge with some of us is you need spiritual glasses to see what God's trying to show you because you're I.

Need spiritual glasses to see what God is trying to show me. Hi, this is the Holy Spirit and you know, I'm I'm trying to show you something. I know you think I'm almighty and stuff. But I'm really not that almighty and and so all of my efforts to try to get you to see this have failed.

What on earth.

Vision has gotten blurry and this weekend I want to clear it up a little bit and we're gonna put some glasses on you and show you what God wants to do.

In your life. He wants to show me what God wants to do. God wanted to do it. He'd be doing man.

We're gonna be reading out of Ezekiel chapter 37.

The Resurrection Vision of Ezekiel 37

Now I'm gonna just quickly walk through this this is since we you know, I seem to collect these Ezekiel 37 sermons. We've done a few of them over the past year. I'm just gonna remind you that this is a vision of the resurrection of the dead the text actually says that so we're gonna go to Ezekiel 37 and Just let the text tell us what it's all about so the hand of the Lord was upon me.

Ezekiel writes and he brought me it out in the spirit of Yahweh and sent me Down in the middle of the valley. It was full of bones. He led me around among them behold. There was very many on the surface of the valley behold.

They were very dry and he said to me son of man. Can these bones live and I answered Oh Lord God, you know. And then he said to me prophesy over these bones and say to them. Oh dry bones. Hear the word of Yahweh thus says Yahweh Elohim to these bones behold I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live and I will lay sinews upon you and will cause flesh to come upon You and cover you with skin and put breath in you and you shall live and you shall know that I am Yahweh so I prophesied as I was commanded and as I prophesied there was a sound and behold a Rattling and the bones came together bone to its bone and I looked and behold there were sinews on them and Flesh had come upon them and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me prophesy to the breath prophesy son of man and say to the breath. Thus says Yahweh Elohim come from the four winds. Oh breath and breathe on these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me and the breath came into them and they lived and stood on their feet an Exceedingly great army now oftentimes Bad sermons will end here, but the text itself tells us what this means.

So then he said to me son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are indeed cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them thus says Yahweh Elohim behold I will open your graves and raise you from your graves Oh my people and I will bring you into the land of Israel and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

When I open your graves and raise you from your graves Oh my people and I will put my spirit within you and you shall live and I will place You in your own land and then you shall know that I am Yahweh.

I have spoken. I will do it declares the Lord. So real quick you can see what's going on here the vision is like a parable and God interprets the parable and the interpretation is is that this is the resurrection that's being pictured here.

It's kind of that simple and when you let the text tell you what it's about. Then you don't have to worry about being Manipulated and deceived. So the question then comes up. What is Jeremy Foster gonna do with this text and this is something that we we need to pay attention to because this is a very Slick Bible twisting tactic what he's going to assume.

Is that God giving? Ezekiel the vision of the dry bones is a Pattern that is going to be repeated and is being repeated in our time. For individual congregations and for individual people. So he's not going to read the text for what it says and what it means.

What he's going to do is read the text as a Pattern and then say here's what you should expect and when you do this thing, this is what's gonna happen. So it doesn't really matter what the text says the tech.

It's all about this pattern that happened in Ezekiel 37. That's supposed to be happening today and by doing this He doesn't care what the the text actually says or means.

No.

Because it's now about me and me going through the Ezekiel 37 pattern in my life and you going through the Ezekiel 37 pattern in your life. Which is not why God had Ezekiel 37 penned. This is not some normative Pattern of Vision that God gives that you should see happening in your life or mine.

That's not it what's going on at all. So we continue and.

I've got it on my iPad and some of y 'all like okay, cuz how you gonna read without glass? I've fought 20 on my iPad. But before we read Ezekiel 37 we got to go to 36. We're a contextual church and I want to show you the context of what God is doing here.

What God is doing with Ezekiel is he's showing Ezekiel. He's telling Ezekiel all of these incredible things that he's gonna do. I'm gonna restore the nation. I'm gonna rebuild the families. I'm gonna rebuild the homes.

It's all Awesome. It's incredible. You ever had that moment where we're like God is speaking. You're like man. It's gonna be amazing and then.

That moment when God is speaking. The only time I hear God speaking is when I'm reading His word or somebody's preaching the Bible to me. Accurately, that's when I hear God speaking. What are you talking about?

We get to chapter 37 and it is not.

What God said? In fact, it looks the opposite. I want you to prepare for that. Have you ever it's about the Resurrection the text says so had a moment where you thought something was gonna be great. You're like it's gonna be the best you've ever seen.

It's gonna be amazing and you get there and it's not Amazing like you recommended the chicken taco somewhere and somebody's sitting there chewing through the chicken. You're like, it's good. This is what happens verse chapter 36.

It's gonna be good chapter 37. It ain't good. Yeah, that starts good verse.

Notice he didn't read a single verse from 36. One says the hand of the Lord was on me.

And he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord. How many of you want the hand of the Lord on you? That's an awesome thing. But notice when the hand of the Lord is on you, he will take you where he wants you to go not.

This is nonsense. This is not what this text is about. This is not some repeating pattern that we should expect to see in our lives. So again, it doesn't matter what the text says. He just is looking for some pattern and and now he's reading your life into this pattern.

Have you ever had this happen to you? No, I haven't. Where you want to go.

He takes me by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley.

But God I.

Like this is cool, and I appreciate you being with me, but I kind of didn't want to be in the valley. Like if the hand of the Lord is it gonna be upon me take us thou thine servant Uppest to his nine mountain topist so as I can see us.

What is that? I would like his.

A sass talking God really. And again, you're not Ezekiel. I'm not Ezekiel. I'm not a prophet of God. What are you doing here and again, it's all in the assumption. The assumption is well Ezekiel is a prophet.

He heard the voice of God gave him a vision. I I can hear the voice of God talking directly to me and I God's gonna give me a vision. So what what Ezekiel went through. I'm gonna go through but note here as Ezekiel never makes this complaint.

Not once. Yeah, so now he's like adding words into the mouth of Ezekiel. So the hand of Yahweh was upon me. He brought me in out of the Spirit of Yahweh. And out in the Spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley.

It was full of bones and he led me among them and behold. There were very many on the surface and the valley and behold. They were very dry and he said to me son of man. Can these bones live. And I answered Oh Yahweh Elohim, you know.

And.

So those are the only words That you know in this initial part that Ezekiel speaks none of the sass talking. That Jeremy Foster's engaging in this is weird. It's for me as to do it.

So y 'all think that's how God talks King James.

I.

Lord take me to the mouth. Why would he take him to the valley. Because if I want to give you vision I have to take you to the valley.

If.

Where in the Bible does it say that if God wants to give you vision he has to take you to a valley? You know, I think of Ezekiel. He received vision from God on the top of Mount Horeb. I actually in a cave, you know up on the slopes of Mount Horeb.

Where did Moses get the Ten Commandments I know on top of Mount Horeb. Mount Sinai.

Weird.

There is no biblical text that says if God wants to give you vision. He's got to take you to the valley. So has God taken you to the valley yet? Again, this is a major twisting of Ezekiel 37 but it's in the assumption as to why it's written.

I want you to have sight.

I'll take you to the mountaintop where you can see. Oh, wow. Look at the expanse, but sometimes vision only happens in the valley because that's where I see beyond what I can see.

Ezekiel 37 is not a pattern for God giving you a vision in your life.

Some of you wonder why you've been in a valley for so long and I'll tell you why because when you're on the mountaintop. You're so distracted by all the great things around you that you can't see what God's trying to show you.

Okay, so we got Narsa Jesus. I'm not sure which word to use for this at the moment this is absurd Jesus but the idea of reading yourself in you know, and into the biblical text by Assuming that the text is a pattern that you should see repeated in your life.

Not sure what the right word for that is yet.

In fact.

If you have a suggestion for what maybe word we could use for this type of Bible twisting.

I.

I'm open to it, you know, leave a comment down below. Let you know, let me know what you think would be a good idea to call this type of Bible twisting.

You you get on a mountain, you know what I'm talking about when your marriage is good. Y 'all hadn't fought in a few days. You know and you don't want to jinx it by like what's wrong with you? Like this is amazing.

This is actually like okay, you're back good to see. That just me. Okay, never mind. Oh, I Just got a rousing a man from a lonely man right here in the middle. Um. No, but you don't come out when the kids are are good.

Business is good. Life is good relationships are good. And guess what? You don't pray as much then.

Because you just don't need God as much then some. I need God every day. What are you talking about good or bad?

I need him every day. Wonder why you're in a valley. Because you're better in a battle than you are when you're not.

Is the reason why God took Ezekiel to the valley of the dry bones, which was a vision parable if you would. Was because he's better in a battle than when he's not.

No.

Not at all. This doesn't make any sense.

Some of us need to get in a valley to see what God can do and this is we need to get in a valley. I.

Live on like one of the flattest places on the planet. There's no valleys here. There's no hills here. You. It's so flat you can watch your dog run away for two weeks.

How am I supposed to find a valley is what God's doing to Ezekiel and he sees that the valley is full of bones.

And.

He led me back and forth among the bones and I saw a great many bones and The floor of the valve on the floor of the valley and the bones were very dry. God doesn't sugarcoat this situation. God doesn't say hey, listen, I just wanted.

God doesn't sugarcoat the situation. That's what you think this means. Again read the chapter. It's very clear. The vision was a picture of death and Resurrection. That was the point of the vision God gave us the interpretation of it.

What you're talking about makes no.

Sense at all show you like it's kind of gonna get weird. God's like nah, look look look look look look look look death everywhere and. Then God asks him the weirdest question God asked him verse 3. He says son of man can these bones live.

And Ezekiel answers the most tactful Answer in the Bible. He says Oh Sovereign Lord You alone know I'm gonna put that back on you God. Can these bones live?

Hmm.

You know Lord. You ever had somebody asked you a question and you think you know the answer. But you know, whatever you're getting ready to say is not the right answer. And so you don't know what to say.

How many of y 'all were raised by a strict mama? Just raise your hand, you know, and you're in church right now. So just be grateful for that strict mama. How many of y 'all your mama and maybe you're a mama and you say this how many of y 'all have ever either looked at your?

Kids or your mama looked at you and just said what's wrong with you? And they never just say it. Once do they it's always followed up with light and they enunciate everywhere. The first is it what's wrong with you and then they go what is wrong with you.

And you want to say nothing. I'm fine. I came from you. All that I have is your legacy. But you also know your mom is a ninja right. My mama's and then she's watching right now,. I love you mom.

Note high entertainment value as far as this. It's not a sermon it this speech that he's delivering is concerned. Oh, I mean there people are laughing and thinking this is just his delivery is great as comedic sense of timing amazing and.

Yet he couldn't exes jeet his way out of a paper bag if you gave him a concordance a Greek New Testament and a.

Flashlight I.

Love you. Mama. You could hit me. I don't even know she hit me. Like I felt it. I was like, what was? My mom's like.

Like.

Like you wanted to say nothing but you knew like you had too much fear and respect to say nothing. So you were like a lot like a lot's wrong with me because if I say the wrong thing Then something else gonna be wrong with me, too.

Ezekiel answers such a good answer out of fear or honor and respect for God. Here's one. Because Ezekiel respects God's ability to see something that he can't see.

Where which biblical commentary did you consult that says this to know something that he can't know.