Vision
Proverbs 29:18 (King James Version) Pastor Ken Crow
18Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Over the past year we have talked a lot around here about the future of this church and the vision we have concerning it. This morning God has put upon my heart a message concerning our personal visions as individuals.
Where will each one of us be in Jesus Christ in the future. Where will I be with God one year from now. Will I be stronger in the Lord this time next year than I am today?
Will my ministry be developing? Will my walk with Jesus be closer?
The author of Proverbs 29:18 , probably King Solomon , bluntly and unapologetically points out the fate of one without a vision.
God is trying to instill in every Christian a vision for their own spiritual life.
God wants to give everyone of us here this morning a vision for the future.
Joseph in Genesis was given a Vision. The bible says he dreamed a dream.
Abraham was spoken to in a vision. Noah had a vision. Mary, Paul and every godly person in the bible we will find when we really get down to it had a vision.
All had big visions! Not one of them embraced a ho hum , mediocre walk with God and if that is what you have in mind this morning you will never make it. We must be energized by the Holy Spirit. We must continue to dream big dreams from God! I want to declare today in the name of Jesus nothing is impossible with God!
Let’s look today at one example in the Bible of a man with a vision.
Turn with me to the book of 1st Samuel chapter three.
1 Samuel 3
1And 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.
2And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
6And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
8And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.
9Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
11And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
12In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
13For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
14And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
15And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
16Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
17And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
18And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
19And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
20And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
21And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1. Samuel himself was the product of a vision to his mother from God after she went to Eli the priest and prayed. You can read the account later in 1st Samuel chapter 1.
Dads and Moms today you can not expect your children to dream big and seek visions from God if you do not do it yourself.
We need to start declaring victory in our own life and seeking visions from the Lord as parents because more than likely our children’s vision for what god is able to do in their own life is going to be born out of our visions and dreams that we share with them.
We need to stop our mouth sometimes from killing other people’s visions.
When our children ask if we believe they can achieve something in life we need to quote a little Bible to them about how nothing is impossible with God!
How a little Shepard boy grew up to be a King!
How a peasant girl named Esther grew up to be a Queen!
How the obedience of a young man placing a few little fishes and a small amount of bread in the hands of Jesus fed thousands of people in a desert place!
We have a tendency to quote the do and don’t from the Word of God, how about the rest of it that encourages them to be all they can be in the Lord.
2. We must open ourselves to hear and see the vision. Verse 10 of the Samuel text of chapter three : 10And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
We need to hear from God. Yes the Pastor needs to hear from God!
The song leaders, the Sunday school teachers ,the evangelist , all the church leaders need to hear from God! But guess what ? You do too!
This church depends on your vision! Your life depends on your vision.
We need to stop passing the buck on to other people and put on the servant label and start saying to Jesus Christ “ Lord speak to me!”
And once we do begin to listen to what our Lord is trying to tell us!
We must see the vision. The vision from God must be so real that we can see it in the spirit even though it may be miles from us .
Once it is spoken by All Mighty Jehova God it is in existence!
This church before it was built in the early 60s was seen by someone in a vision.
I love that song Open the Eyes of My Heart! Some of us need to pray that prayer before we try to pray anything else.
3. We must find somebody to share the vision with.
This is most important. Mary found Elisabeth . Samuel told Eli…Ruth told Naomi, Ester went to Mordecai. Notice a pattern.
On the other hand Joseph told his brothers. They tried to kill the vision.
Find someone that thinks like you do. Some Holy Spirit filled on fire for God person that will agree in the name of Jesus for that thing coming to pass!
It makes the devil mad for us to dream dreams and for us to see visions from God, but what makes him madder is for us to believe and act on our vision.
With all I have today I tell you the devil is a liar and if he is working against you, you just keep on keeping on because in the name of Jesus he has to flee!
You say “Pastor, my visions,my dreams are just all gone. I used to think big for God, but things have just got in the way. I don’t dream anymore.I have no vision for the future.”
Jesus wants to restore that back to you today. That is his nature. He wants to put that fire back in that spirit!
God Bless You in Jesus’ Name
Pastor Ken Crow
