Vision Determine Destiny
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) states it plain and clear, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” In basketball lingo, “Game over. You lose!” So how do you catch the vision God has for you?
Often you find the answer to a question by asking another question. So how about this question, “What is your assignment?” Have you ever thought about what God’s assignment is for you? I think it’s time for you to discover His vision for your life?
Acts 2:17(NIV) is one of my favorite verses. I believe it reveals one of the most powerful, yet sadly enough seldom used gifts of God. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
Let’s break it down a little. I believe we are getting closer to the last days. If so, then God is pouring out his Spirit on all people. How exciting is that? What does that mean for you and me? If the Spirit of God is being released from the throne room of heaven and the Holy Spirit is the power of God. What are we waiting for?
After being baptized at age 30 by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit filled Jesus. The result was miracle after miracle. A supernatural helper that Jesus said would allow us to do even greater thing than He!
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Do you have a vision or a dream? There are only so many things that I will do for a salary. We have all said, “I don’t care how much money you give me, I am not doing that!” Yet as a son, father, and husband, I have been up to my knees in puke, blood, or poop, and I never thought twice about helping the ones I love in that moment. That same love from above is what makes a vision powerful. When you have a vision or a dream, you will push past anything in your way to reach that destination that burns inside your soul.
Habakkuk 2:2-3 (The Message) “And then GOD answered: ‘Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision is a witness pointing to what’s coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn’t lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It’s on its way. It will come right on time.”
Your vision is the receipt to a package that is on its way. It is like a supernatural ultrasound. It is showing you what is coming, the miracle that is being birthed! So my challenge for you today is to become a vision carrier! Vision carriers go beyond their comfort zone, so let’s take a look at the word “beyond”.
Isaiah 43:18-19 (AMP) “Do not remember the former things, or ponder the things of the past. Listen carefully, I am about to do a new thing, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even put a road in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”
God wants to take you BEYOND where you have been, and wants you to have a VISION of what His plan is for your life. You can’t work against God’s plan for your life, you will fail and so will your plan.
2nd Corinthians 8:3-5 (NIV) “For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.”
What happens when you give beyond what you have? When you do so in the name of Jesus, then the Holy Spirit fulfills His role in glorifying the Son. As a result the miraculous becomes within your reach. Not in your power or strength, but by My Spirit says the Lord.
Learn how to stretch your capacity! How you might ask? When you give of what you value, instead of selfishly staying comfortable and holding on to it, then the Spirit is given the chance to make up the difference. This is a multiplying effect, a miracle is birthed.
What are you waiting for? All you have to do is ask. James 4:2 (NLT) “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” Tony Evans, says it like this, “Prayer is earth giving heaven permission to affect earth.” You are not waiting on God, He is waiting on you. I recently heard it said like this. Since God gave you a choice, God is waiting on your permission to invade your world. He is on the edge of his thrown, waiting for your prayer. When you make that call, he will immediately join you and act on your behalf. Steve Harvey calls it “Jumping”. Whatever you want to call it, it takes action for you to go beyond what is naturally possible, a very specific action.
What is God looking for? 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV) “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” Luke 18:8 (NIV) “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Will Jesus find faith? Faith takes action. Action takes Vision. Vision takes you Beyond!
Beyond is where you need to set your GPS destination to and then leave it there.
Your problem may not be your capacity. It may be your conditioning. I think everyone will agree that successful athletes are well conditioned. With conditioning comes pain, with pain miracles are birthed and visions become reality. What have you considered that you can’t do or should I say won’t do? Once conditioned, the effort is not as big of an issue! What you are willing to give to see your vision become reality?
Can you see air? Can you see wind? No, but you can feel a cool breeze on your face and see the power of its force. It’s not a surprise to me that the Bible refers to “A mighty rushing wind” when the Holy Spirit fell on those in the upper room. The Hebrew word for the Spirt of God is Ruah. Ruah is the breath of God. Have you ever seen breath? You just have to believe. Only believe!
Visions and Dreams are the catalyst that accomplish uncommon goals. No challenge, no change!
We can let the Holy Spirit come in and make us strong in our weakness, or we can shut Him out and continue trying on our own. When are you going to recognize that you can’t handle this journey alone? Swallow your pride or whatever is keeping you from reaching God’s vision for your life. Go to the throne and ask for His Help! He is waiting on you.
There is one requirement to receiving the power from the Holy Spirit. The Son gets All the Glory! A small price to achieving more than you can dream or imagine. Let’s finish this journey to greatness by looking at Jesus and His example.
How about the day that Jesus revealed a taste of the power of the Holy Spirit to His closest friends. It began as another nice day for a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. I was there this past summer. I envisioned this event while worshipping my King on a boat just like the disciples. Jesus decided to take a nap, when a category fear storm blew in over the mountains. I can hear the experienced fisherman now, “Let Jesus sleep, it’s just another storm.” Just another game, we got this. Before they knew it, the storm had overwhelmed them, fear had poured in like waves, and finally when they had no other option they called out, “Teacher, wake up! Don’t you care if we drown?” Why do we always wait until the midnight hour before we call out or get on our knees? Jesus showed up and showed off the power inside Him and amazed the disciples at whole new level by commanding the wind and waves to be still.
A few games later, in Mark 6:45-50, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowd. He went up on the mountain to pray and when evening came, he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. With only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, Jesus came towards them walking on the water. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the water they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke to them and said, “Take heart: it is I. do not be afraid.”
He would have passed them by! Just like He will pass you by until you simply do what they did! He heard them cry out! Man do I love me some Peter! What would cause a man to ask if he could join Jesus walking on the sea, especially on super windy day? That is the guy I am recruiting. Don’t let him pass by your team this year! Don’t be too proud. Don’t be too selfish to give up sin. We all need Him! We need His Spirit. His wind.
“Catch your wind” is a phrase I often say to my players, when I should have been saying “Catch His wind, breathe it in!” If you are a born again son of God, then His wind is your wind! It is not a coincidence that win is hidden in the wind!
Set the standard high. As for me and my team, we will praise to the Lord. With all our capacity! Will you be ready and able to give God the Glory He deserves when He shows up to carry you beyond?
You can’t control the Spirit, but you can build your sails and prepare for the wind to come. That is when you will catch the vision that God has for you!
Vision Determines Destiny!