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NOTE
Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver
Episode: Vision
Publishing Date: 2017-08-20T06:00:44-07:00
Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca
Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/vision/

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Why? Because I think most of us need to refocus and get an idea of how to go about it.

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So, I want to talk about vision.

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Wayne, am I good to go?

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Okay, so Proverbs 29, 18 is the most common scripture that people start off with when we talk about vision.

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And in Proverbs 29, 18 it says that a people who lack vision have no restraint.

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That when there is no prophetic vision or when they don't know what God wants them to do,

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then they lack restraint. That's what

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Proverbs 29, 18 says. So here's what it looks like. What it means is when you don't have prophetic vision,

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now what do we mean by prophetic vision? What we mean is when God doesn't,

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when you do not know what God wants you to do as you move forward,

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people cast off restraint. As in there are no tracks to run on.

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So what you end up doing is something called aimless spirituality. It's not that you are unspiritual,

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you're very spiritual, but your spirituality sometimes has a tendency to become aimless.

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And so many of us find ourselves in this place called aimless spirituality.

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Aimless spirituality, okay.

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So guys, so there's Proverbs 29, 18 on one side and then there's Hosea chapter 4 verse 6,

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which is another scripture that's often quoted when we talk about vision. And Hosea 4, 6 says that when a people have no knowledge of God,

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they perish. When a people have no knowledge of God, they perish.

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So when

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one lacks an

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understanding of where God wants to take you, then usually you perish. And the word use for perish has

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three other meanings and all of them are kind of used in different versions. Some say destroyed.

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Then there are two other words that are used. Some say dumb, some say silenced. And you can pick your choice.

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But when a people lack vision, when a people don't know where God wants them to go,

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or when you don't know where God wants you to go, there is no restraint. There is no track to run on. Therefore you end up

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engaging in aimless spirituality.

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Or when a people lack

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knowledge of God, as in what God wants for you, you end up being destroyed or you end up being silenced or in some cases

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you just get dull.

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See the thing is guys, most of us as Christians have

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goals, projects and targets. We have that. And the church loves that. The church loves goals.

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You and I love

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targets and projects to do. And there's nothing wrong with that. But we don't have a vision that God crafted for us.

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Which is why it's great to have targets. 2000 churches by 2020.

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And then we'll write it down as 20002020 and it becomes a catchphrase.

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Stuff like that. Targets, goals and projects are easy to set. That's how the world works. That's something we do too.

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But before we get to targets, goals and projects, there is this thing called, what is the vision that God has crafted for me?

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And doesn't matter how old or young you are sitting here. It's an absolute must to have it. It's a

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component of life that if you don't have,

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can cause you to live an exemplary Christian life without much of a legacy.

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So that's why I thought we'll touch on it.

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So before you are called to something like a project or a goal, you are called to

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someone who has a master plan for you. Before you are called to something,

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hey, can you turn the volume up on this? I feel like I'm shouting my guts out.

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Which I probably will still do after you turn the volume up.

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But okay, so guys,

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stop complaining in the peanut gallery. So before being called to something like a goal,

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you are called to someone who has a master plan for you.

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Remember that. Before you are called to something like a goal or a project or a target,

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you are called by someone and you are called to someone who has a master plan

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meant to be accomplished

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here on earth so that his purposes may be fulfilled.

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None of us were made just for the sake of being made.

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Everyone who was made fit into a master plan or a purpose that God had,

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not for you, but it was supposed to encompass everything he was planning to do.

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And you and I were part of it. And so when you and I don't find a way to do it,

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we don't have a way to do it.

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And you and I were part of it. And so when you and I don't find it,

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we have to settle for target project goals.

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Any questions before we go on?

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So we can write down things to do, we can write down targets to achieve,

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but not many of us can write down God's vision for you in plain language

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that even a child can understand.

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Heidi was reading it out from Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 2.

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You can write down targets, you can write down goals.

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New Year resolutions are basically this.

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Write down the things you want to change and you can write that down.

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But very few of us sitting here can actually write down the vision that God has crafted for you

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in a language that is so plain that even a child can understand it.

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Very few of us can write that down.

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Surprising, eh?

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So how do you define vision then?

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And by the way, how do you know you know what God wants for you?

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How do you know you have a vision?

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You must be able to write it down.

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And you must be able to write it down so simply that anybody who reads it can understand it.

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If your 10-year-old can't understand it, it means that you really haven't grasped it.

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It must be so simple that you can write it down.

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It must be so simply stated that a child can understand it.

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That is the beautiful thing about Jesus, eh?

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Profound things said simply.

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Anybody could understand it.

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So how do you define then vision?

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Vision is God's dream for your life.

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What a brilliant statement, eh?

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And I came up with it. Can you believe that?

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Vision is God's dream for your life.

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Vision is God's dream for your life.

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Vision is God's dream for your life.

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Vision is God's dream for your life. Yep.

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Vision is God's dream for your life that becomes an overarching canopy in your life,

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that becomes an overarching canopy in your life that becomes a visible canopy in your life.

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in your life that becomes an overarching, arching canopy in your life.

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Becomes an overarching canopy in your life,

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covers everything from beginning to end,

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and has portions to it, and has portions to it

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that you are supposed to discover

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explore, possess, build,

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and it's all supposed to happen in appointed timeframes.

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In appointed timeframes.

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Meaning you can't decide to do this when you're 90.

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You can, but you won't have much time.

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So, how do you define vision then?

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Vision is God's dream for your life.

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It's an overarching canopy that God spreads over your life.

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Doesn't matter whether you're 10 or whether you're 20, 40, 80, 90.

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It just spreads over your life.

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The way you were shaped, everything, the sum total of who you are

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was oriented by God to finish these things that he had put

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for a certain purpose to be accomplished.

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So, God's vision is God's dream for your life

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that becomes an overarching canopy in your life or over your life.

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And what are you supposed to do?

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You're supposed to discover it. You're supposed to explore it.

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You're supposed to then possess it.

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And once you possess it, you're supposed to build

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whatever needs to be built now that you have a vision to build.

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And it has to happen in appointed timeframes.

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It can't be when I choose to.

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But it has to happen in appointed timeframes.

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And if it doesn't, all that changes is

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if I don't finish what I'm supposed to finish, say, in a five-year window that God has for me,

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then when I move into the next five-year window, I've got less time and more to do.

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And this keeps adding up.

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So I do end up in heaven, but I do end up with unfinished business in heaven.

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So my mansion is smaller. I'm kidding.

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I thought that was funny.

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You thought it was funny too?

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This could go down a totally different pathway.

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Let's forget about mansions right now.

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Okay. Guys, God is not reluctant to reveal his dream for you.

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God is not reluctant to reveal his dream for you.

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But he expects you to press into it, to extract or draw out this key component of life.

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He's not reluctant. God is really not reluctant to reveal his dream for you.

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He's not reluctant. Which father is?

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I mean, every father wants to tell his son what he or she wants you to be.

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But he does want you to press in and to extract it from him.

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He does want you to press in and extract it from him.

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I mean, Jacob had to wrestle through the night to extract his vision from God.

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In just telling Jacob his name, God changed his entire life, changed his vision.

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God had pressed in to extract it.

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Philippians 3.12 says, it doesn't say this, but I'm using it.

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Philippians 3.12, if I were to use that, I'd put it this way.

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God's vision must apprehend you so you can press in to take hold of the prize he has for you.

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God's vision must apprehend you.

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Must apprehend you. It must seize you so that you now begin to press in to take hold of it.

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I love it when I meet with some of you and I give you an idea of what God has for you.

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And then I see you beginning to run.

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Man, there's nothing that is as pleasurable as that.

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When you passionately pursue what you know is God's dream for you.

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Because somehow it apprehends you, it captures you, it grabs something in your heart.

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And now you keep reaching out to grab it so that you can be carried by it.

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And it is the vision of God for you that will fuel you and keep you when there are no projects, when there are no goals.

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Remember that. It is the vision of God.

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Once you catch a glimpse of, oh, shucks, Father, so that's what you had for me.

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Once you get that, it fuels you even when you don't have projects, even when you don't have targets, even when you're unemployed, retired or a pastor.

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All three fall into the same category.

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And so what happens is even when life is routine, even when you're working hard to earn a livelihood,

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if you have vision, it'll keep you and it'll fuel you.

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And see that in the life of Joseph.

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It'll keep you through times of suffering and hardship when you have vision.

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Here was Joseph stuck in Egypt in a prison and as a slave at Potiphar's house and his vision fueled him.

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What do you think Jesus did most of his life?

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Make tables and chairs.

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Even as a son of God, you can only create so much variety when you're making tables and chairs.

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And yet day in, day out, day in, day out, there was a vision that fueled him to the extent that it says in Hebrews chapter 12,

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that for the joy that was set before him.

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And what was the joy?

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It's talked about in Isaiah 53 when it says, the will of God shall prosper in the hands of the son, that many shall be redeemed.

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There was a vision that God had kept him fueled even though he saw people being crucified,

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even though he kept working on table after table, chair after chair, there was a vision that fueled him.

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It is what causes Habakkuk to write Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 2 and 3, saying,

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this is for an appointed time, do not think it is slow, it shall come to pass, wait for it.

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Amen. Habakkuk 2, verse 14.

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Same with Paul, guys.

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Paul had the same thing happening to him.

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People come and grab his hands and tie it up with a belt and say, you shouldn't go to Jerusalem.

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This is what's going to happen to him.

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He's going to be in a state of despair.

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He's going to be in a state of despair.

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He's going to be in a state of despair.

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He's going to be in a state of despair.

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Grab his hands and tie it up with a belt and say, you shouldn't go to Jerusalem.

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This is what's going to happen to you in Jerusalem.

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But this guy was consumed with a simple vision that he saw on the road to Damascus.

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Same with Abraham.

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God is going to visit him.

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He's slain an animal, cut it into two, put pieces on both sides and he's waiting.

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And the vultures descend because they're going to eat the sacrifice up.

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And he's running around with a sheep trying to drive them away. Why?

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Because he knows something's going to happen.

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And then he falls into a deep sleep and he sees a vision of God.

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This man then begins to move like no other man has ever moved, leaving clan, country, ethnicity,

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Hagar, Ishmael, finally Isaac, because there was a vision that fueled it.

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And yet what was the vision that fueled it?

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He saw a city that was not built with hands.

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And it kept him going, man.

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Guys, we don't realize how critical it is to have a God-crafted vision in your life.

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Otherwise we'll be stuck with projects, targets and goals.

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And it saps your strength out, eh?

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Because projects, targets and goals will drive you to accomplish them.

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Vision leads you.

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Because it's forever expanding.

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You never get to the end of it.

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It keeps expanding. It keeps expanding.

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Any questions before we go on?

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Once you have this God-kind of vision, not God-kind of vision,

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once you have God-crafted vision, yes, it keeps expanding, so you never get to the end of it.

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The horizon, just when you get there, keeps moving away.

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Hey, does anyone have glasses to watch the solar eclipse?

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Oh, come on. I need a pair.

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Because I'll be flying at that. I want to see it from the air.

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I could do stuff like if you really loved me.

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Good idea.

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Coming back to things more serious.

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Guys, vision orients your goals.

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Vision gives you goals.

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Goals without vision are just a means to keep yourself busy,

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or to convince yourself that you're doing something productive, or useful or beneficial.

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Vision orients goals.

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It makes life restful, because these goals are beyond you,

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and you need to depend on God, like Betty was saying.

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Goals that are without vision make you work, because you've got to achieve them.

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You set them up, and you can only accomplish them by the strength of your brawn and brain.

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But when God gives you vision, now you've got goals that you need to accomplish,

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that are so far beyond you that it's impossible, and it makes you dependent on God.

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It readjusts your focus, eh?

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You keep readjusting your focusing, oh shucks, going off, let's come back.

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Because it's a filter that allows you to keep focusing.

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It ignites your passion.

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It ignites your passion.

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How do you know people who have vision?

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There is passion.

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There is passion.

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Because it's something that's fueling you from the inside.

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It ignites passion.

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And once passion is ignited, guys, it's natural to prioritize life.

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And every time you fall in love, oh sorry, some of you are married.

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But for those others who, no, even that doesn't work.

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Let me just say that when passion ignites, priorities become easy.

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And when you prioritize, you know how to allocate time, talent, strength, and resources.

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When you prioritize, you create time.

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When you prioritize, you create time.

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I said this last week and I'm saying it again.

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When you prioritize life, whatever you prioritize, you create time for.

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There's never a lack of time.

00:18:01.600 --> 00:18:03.600
It's only a lack of priorities.

00:18:03.600 --> 00:18:06.600
Whenever I prioritize stuff, I always have the time.

00:18:06.600 --> 00:18:08.600
I always have time for hockey.

00:18:08.600 --> 00:18:11.600
I always have time for a good cup of coffee.

00:18:11.600 --> 00:18:14.600
I always have time to watch CNN.

00:18:14.600 --> 00:18:16.600
I always have time.

00:18:16.600 --> 00:18:21.600
And yet, when I don't like you or I don't think you're a priority, I can come up with a meeting.

00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:28.600
Vision readjusts focus.

00:18:28.600 --> 00:18:30.600
It streamlines things.

00:18:30.600 --> 00:18:31.600
And what do I mean by streamline?

00:18:31.600 --> 00:18:33.600
You drop things that are not necessary.

00:18:33.600 --> 00:18:34.600
Just let it go.

00:18:34.600 --> 00:18:38.600
It's not important anymore.

00:18:38.600 --> 00:18:45.600
And it accurately apportions time, talent, strength, treasure, relationships.

00:18:45.600 --> 00:18:49.600
Time, talent, strength, treasure, relationships.

00:18:49.600 --> 00:18:59.600
Everything finds its place when vision ignites passion because you know what you're running after.

00:18:59.600 --> 00:19:09.600
Having painted such an amazing picture of what God-crafted vision can do for you, now comes the tough part.

00:19:09.600 --> 00:19:11.600
Grasping vision is hard work.

00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:18.600
Grasping vision is hard work, which is why goals, targets, and goals are so important.

00:19:18.600 --> 00:19:22.600
Goals, targets, and projects are so easy.

00:19:22.600 --> 00:19:24.600
Grasping vision is hard work.

00:19:24.600 --> 00:19:30.600
In the same chapter that Heidi was reading out, Habakkuk chapter 2, here's what you have to do if you want to grasp vision.

00:19:30.600 --> 00:19:36.600
Habakkuk says in chapter 2 that I will climb the watchtower and I will look for God.

00:19:36.600 --> 00:19:39.600
So there's this whole idea of climbing a watchtower.

00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:43.600
Habakkuk says, I need an answer for what I'm looking for.

00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:47.600
So I'm going to climb the watchtower and I'm going to start looking for God.

00:19:47.600 --> 00:19:52.600
Like I always say, he's not a cosmic vending machine where you pop in a coin and out comes God.

00:19:52.600 --> 00:19:57.600
No, there is this thing called looking for him, seeking him, pressing in for him.

00:19:57.600 --> 00:20:02.600
And that is difficult for us, guys. It is difficult for us.

00:20:02.600 --> 00:20:05.600
It has always been difficult for man.

00:20:05.600 --> 00:20:09.600
But it's more difficult for us because of the instant way we want things done.

00:20:09.600 --> 00:20:13.600
So you've got to go look for him. Climb the watchtower.

00:20:13.600 --> 00:20:16.600
What does climbing the watchtower mean? I really don't know.

00:20:16.600 --> 00:20:23.600
We don't do it nowadays. All it means is do something to find him, however you find him.

00:20:23.600 --> 00:20:27.600
But once that happens, you have to have the patience to develop the picture.

00:20:27.600 --> 00:20:33.600
Some of you are not old enough for this, but there was a time when we used to have these things called roles of film.

00:20:33.600 --> 00:20:41.600
And you would take pictures and then you would have to wait three days.

00:20:41.600 --> 00:20:44.600
If you were a member at Costco, you waited only one day.

00:20:44.600 --> 00:20:52.600
But if you were a savant, you gave it in there for three days and they would lose it first.

00:20:52.600 --> 00:20:56.600
And then on the fifth day they would find it. On the sixth day they would give it back to you.

00:20:56.600 --> 00:21:01.600
And you would get these pictures. Guys, it takes time to develop the picture that God gives.

00:21:01.600 --> 00:21:06.600
We don't have the time for that. I'm telling you, you want a God-crafted vision.

00:21:06.600 --> 00:21:11.600
It is going to be hard work.

00:21:11.600 --> 00:21:15.600
It is going to be hard work. Because you've got to climb the watchtower and look for God.

00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:19.600
After looking for God, as he begins to speak, you've got to begin to write down what he's saying.

00:21:19.600 --> 00:21:26.600
Because he does things one of two ways. And I'm not putting him in a box, but this is the box he's created for himself.

00:21:26.600 --> 00:21:31.600
One, he paints the large picture of what it will look like at the end.

00:21:31.600 --> 00:21:37.600
Or he'll give you one step at a time. And as you take a step at a time, he keeps adding it so that the picture develops.

00:21:37.600 --> 00:21:42.600
This is how he normally does things. And so it takes time to develop. Do you have the time?

00:21:42.600 --> 00:21:51.600
Because one of the things we don't seem to have is when answers don't come immediately, let's move on to the next goal, project or target.

00:21:51.600 --> 00:21:57.600
Churches do this, pastors do this, and you and I do this.

00:21:57.600 --> 00:22:02.600
What is your God-crafted vision?

00:22:03.600 --> 00:22:07.600
May you hurt if you don't know it.

00:22:09.600 --> 00:22:17.600
As in, may you feel like, ah, shucks, how come I still don't know it? I'm so poor because I don't know it.

00:22:17.600 --> 00:22:23.600
You've got a rich father who's willing to give it. Go get it.

00:22:24.600 --> 00:22:30.600
Questions? Comments? Disagreements?

00:22:33.600 --> 00:22:41.600
Jim and Linda are about to leave the building. Jim has left the building.

00:22:42.600 --> 00:22:45.600
See you, Linda.

00:22:49.600 --> 00:22:52.600
That's the rest of the solution.

00:22:55.600 --> 00:22:58.600
Alrighty, mate.

00:22:59.600 --> 00:23:06.600
Okay, guys, here are some of the things we need to do if we have to grasp vision.

00:23:06.600 --> 00:23:09.600
One, climb the watchtower and look for God. Patience, develop the picture.

00:23:09.600 --> 00:23:13.600
Three, wrestling with the Word. Wrestling with the Word.

00:23:13.600 --> 00:23:27.600
Because there are some things that God is so stubborn about, where he insists that things that come into your life be through the Spirit of God, through the Word, and through people, in that order.

00:23:27.600 --> 00:23:31.600
So, when he wants to provide something, he'll provide it by the Spirit of God.

00:23:31.600 --> 00:23:36.600
He expects you to have an understanding of the Word so that you understand what he's saying.

00:23:36.600 --> 00:23:45.600
And then he expects you to be able to be humble enough to receive it through people who may not be ones that you think very highly of.

00:23:45.600 --> 00:23:53.600
But he uses this. He uses these three methods to begin to paint a picture for you.

00:23:53.600 --> 00:23:56.600
Fourth, I'm just running through this.

00:23:56.600 --> 00:24:03.600
God is interested in making you the man or the woman you're supposed to be so that he can use you in what he wants.

00:24:03.600 --> 00:24:06.600
He's not interested first in using you in what he wants.

00:24:06.600 --> 00:24:09.600
He wants you to become something so that he can have you do something.

00:24:09.600 --> 00:24:11.600
He wants you to become something.

00:24:11.600 --> 00:24:19.600
I know this is old hat for most of us here, but he wants you to become something before he can use you to do that thing.

00:24:20.600 --> 00:24:25.600
It's completely counter-cultural where the world says, do this and you will become this.

00:24:25.600 --> 00:24:28.600
And God says, become this and then you will do this.

00:24:30.600 --> 00:24:36.600
This is why vision is critical because you cannot become what you need to become unless you see what God wants.

00:24:36.600 --> 00:24:45.600
This is why when Moses takes Israel out into the desert, first he has a meeting with God in the burning bush.

00:24:45.600 --> 00:24:50.600
The bush just blazes and he hears God and that changes Moses.

00:24:50.600 --> 00:24:54.600
Here was a man who was taking care of sheep and now his heart is changed.

00:24:54.600 --> 00:24:56.600
Great. Now he takes Israel out.

00:24:56.600 --> 00:25:04.600
But after bringing them to Mount Sinai, he needs a new vision, man, because if he doesn't get a new vision, he cannot lead them through 40 years of wilderness.

00:25:04.600 --> 00:25:07.600
So what happens? On Mount Sinai, he goes up.

00:25:07.600 --> 00:25:12.600
Guess how many days he stayed there with God? I was surprised. I thought it was only 40. It was 120 days.

00:25:13.600 --> 00:25:22.600
So he goes up for 40 days, finishes what he has to, comes back, breaks the two tablets because they were dancing and fooling around.

00:25:22.600 --> 00:25:27.600
Now he's got to go another 40 days. I don't know if he ate in between. I have a feeling he did.

00:25:27.600 --> 00:25:37.600
But now he goes up for another 40 days and gets a tablet and then he goes up a third time with 70 others, 40 days.

00:25:38.600 --> 00:25:48.600
120 days, four months God camped on a mountain in the middle of Sinai and Moses saw him day after day after day.

00:25:48.600 --> 00:25:56.600
No doubt his face was blazing because of being in the presence of God for 120 days and the guy didn't eat or drink.

00:25:58.600 --> 00:26:03.600
Till the 100 and whatever day when they ate and drank with God.

00:26:03.600 --> 00:26:05.600
Brilliant, huh?

00:26:08.600 --> 00:26:11.600
But Moses needed a new vision if he were to lead the people.

00:26:11.600 --> 00:26:17.600
This is why I said vision keeps expanding and if it doesn't expand, know that something is wrong.

00:26:17.600 --> 00:26:20.600
If you... yeah, we'll get there later.

00:26:23.600 --> 00:26:29.600
Stay with it guys. Don't let things crowd out that which will fuel your life.

00:26:29.600 --> 00:26:35.600
Don't let things crowd out that which will fuel your life.

00:26:38.600 --> 00:26:40.600
Make the main thing the main thing.

00:26:43.600 --> 00:26:57.600
Well-meaning Christians and missionaries and everything else crowd out God-crafted vision because of the work they get involved in.

00:26:58.600 --> 00:27:05.600
And so they have to settle for targets, for responsibilities, for goals, for projects.

00:27:07.600 --> 00:27:11.600
Here are three things that are deadly enemies of vision.

00:27:12.600 --> 00:27:16.600
Three things that are deadly enemies of vision.

00:27:21.600 --> 00:27:33.600
I'll put a summary of these notes up on axe29.cn. You'll usually have the audio there but keep notes anyways because notes on the website won't cover everything.

00:27:33.600 --> 00:27:36.600
Here are three deadly enemies of vision.

00:27:46.600 --> 00:27:48.600
First one is complacency.

00:27:49.600 --> 00:27:50.600
Complacency.

00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:54.600
The second one is unbelief.

00:27:56.600 --> 00:27:58.600
The third one is procrastination.

00:27:58.600 --> 00:28:06.600
Complacency, unbelief, procrastination.

00:28:08.600 --> 00:28:12.600
Deadly enemies of vision. The complacent won't grasp the vision.

00:28:12.600 --> 00:28:26.600
The complacent won't grasp the vision. As in because they are complacent, because they are mediocre, because they are kamsi-kamsa, because they are lukewarm, there's no need to really press in to grasp anything.

00:28:26.600 --> 00:28:32.600
Let some prophet come along and prophesy on me and after six prophets prophesy on me, perhaps I'll get the hang of it.

00:28:32.600 --> 00:28:36.600
And by that time I'll be ready for retirement anyways and spend the time serving the Lord.

00:28:36.600 --> 00:28:38.600
And then you die just before retirement.

00:28:39.600 --> 00:28:40.600
So it doesn't work out.

00:28:40.600 --> 00:28:54.600
So complacency, the people that are complacent are people that won't grasp the vision because lukewarmness will never help you extract from God what is yours as your birthright.

00:28:56.600 --> 00:29:00.600
The complacent won't be able to grasp vision.

00:29:00.600 --> 00:29:03.600
The unbelieving won't embrace it with faith.

00:29:03.600 --> 00:29:16.600
The unbelieving, the unbelieving won't embrace it with faith because if it is a God-crafted vision, let me assure you, you do not have the ability, the resources, the strength or the wisdom to do it.

00:29:20.600 --> 00:29:21.600
You just don't have it.

00:29:21.600 --> 00:29:24.600
You're completely inadequate for it.

00:29:26.600 --> 00:29:28.600
Because it's way beyond you.

00:29:30.600 --> 00:29:33.600
And therefore you'll need faith.

00:29:34.600 --> 00:29:45.600
And so the unbelief is a deadly enemy of vision because you are unable to embrace with faith the God-crafted vision that awaits you.

00:29:45.600 --> 00:29:53.600
And then the last one is procrastination where the ones that procrastinate will not be able to walk in it.

00:29:53.600 --> 00:29:55.600
They have the faith for it.

00:29:55.600 --> 00:29:58.600
They have the ability to grasp it.

00:29:58.600 --> 00:30:01.600
But they don't have the ability to walk in it.

00:30:01.600 --> 00:30:05.600
Because I love this definition of procrastination.

00:30:06.600 --> 00:30:11.600
When we think of procrastination, we think, ah, doing tomorrow what we can do today.

00:30:11.600 --> 00:30:12.600
That is way too simplistic.

00:30:12.600 --> 00:30:14.600
Listen to this and it really hits homey.

00:30:15.600 --> 00:30:25.600
Procrastination is a practice of doing more pleasurable things, carrying out less urgent tasks and putting off impending tasks to a later time.

00:30:25.600 --> 00:30:32.600
Procrastination is a practice of doing more pleasurable things instead of the hard things.

00:30:33.600 --> 00:30:39.600
It is carrying out less urgent tasks than what is important.

00:30:39.600 --> 00:30:44.600
And putting off impending tasks to a later time.

00:30:44.600 --> 00:30:45.600
One more time.

00:30:45.600 --> 00:30:56.600
Procrastination is a practice of doing more pleasurable things than hard things, carrying out less urgent tasks and putting off impending tasks to a later time.

00:30:57.600 --> 00:31:04.600
And then you can see why if I am a procrastinator then I won't be able to walk in it even though I've grasped it and I have enough faith for it.

00:31:09.600 --> 00:31:19.600
Procrastination is a practice of doing the more pleasurable things than the hard things.

00:31:19.600 --> 00:31:25.600
Like, yeah, more pleasurable things than the hard things.

00:31:25.600 --> 00:31:35.600
It is carrying out less urgent tasks at the cost of the more urgent tasks.

00:31:35.600 --> 00:31:46.600
And it is the tendency to put off impending tasks to a later time.

00:31:46.600 --> 00:31:49.600
Put off impending tasks to a later time.

00:31:49.600 --> 00:31:56.600
Man, the second thing really grabbed me when it says concentrating on less urgent tasks and putting off the main things.

00:31:56.600 --> 00:32:00.600
And that kind of ties in with what Betty was talking about where your mind begins to meander.

00:32:00.600 --> 00:32:02.600
You know there is an urgent task to do.

00:32:02.600 --> 00:32:05.600
But why not do this because it suddenly occurred to me.

00:32:05.600 --> 00:32:16.600
And so you go down this rabbit trail doing things that are so not important in the present context.

00:32:16.600 --> 00:32:32.600
So guys, one of the other things we need from vision is we need to, you need training to develop, validate and run in the vision.

00:32:32.600 --> 00:32:38.600
You need training to develop, validate and run in the vision.

00:32:38.600 --> 00:32:40.600
Paul had this vision in Damascus.

00:32:40.600 --> 00:32:43.600
He disappears for a time and begins to learn from God.

00:32:43.600 --> 00:32:45.600
But then look at what he does in Galatians chapter 2 verse 2.

00:32:45.600 --> 00:32:48.600
In Galatians 2 he returns to Jerusalem.

00:32:48.600 --> 00:32:49.600
Why is he returning to Jerusalem?

00:32:49.600 --> 00:32:51.600
Because he wants to go meet with the apostles.

00:32:51.600 --> 00:32:53.600
Why is he meeting with the apostles?

00:32:53.600 --> 00:32:58.600
Because he wants to tell them what he thinks is God's vision for him.

00:32:58.600 --> 00:33:06.600
And he says, I wanted to go talk to them to make sure that I wasn't running in vain.

00:33:06.600 --> 00:33:11.600
I wasn't running in vain.

00:33:11.600 --> 00:33:14.600
So one needs help.

00:33:14.600 --> 00:33:21.600
One needs to connect to people who've run the path you're planning to run.

00:33:21.600 --> 00:33:22.600
Connect to trainers.

00:33:22.600 --> 00:33:27.600
Connect to those that have run before so that you'll know how to exit present circumstances and excel.

00:33:27.600 --> 00:33:31.600
Because the Bible says, iron sharpens iron.

00:33:31.600 --> 00:33:39.600
And if you are a man or a woman who has a God vision, then one of the things I'd suggest that you cultivate immediately is generosity and righteousness.

00:33:39.600 --> 00:33:41.600
Generosity and righteousness.

00:33:41.600 --> 00:33:44.600
All these principles can be practiced in the world and they'll do very well.

00:33:44.600 --> 00:33:55.600
But if you're a Christian, you're at a big disadvantage if you do not walk in righteousness and do not walk in generosity.

00:33:55.600 --> 00:34:00.600
But if you have a God vision, walk in righteousness, as in desire to be pure.

00:34:00.600 --> 00:34:02.600
And two, be generous.

00:34:02.600 --> 00:34:07.600
Because what you have to do is so big that you need resources for it, man.

00:34:07.600 --> 00:34:15.600
And resources do not come your way unless your hands are willing to be generous.

00:34:15.600 --> 00:34:19.600
Heaven allocates resources to unshackle your vision.

00:34:19.600 --> 00:34:23.600
Heaven allocates resources to unshackle vision.

00:34:23.600 --> 00:34:28.600
Heaven allocates resources to unshackle vision.

00:34:28.600 --> 00:34:31.600
Guys, you've got to be so sure of this.

00:34:31.600 --> 00:34:39.600
Because most of us do not even want to dream of God-crafted vision because it's going to cost a lot.

00:34:39.600 --> 00:34:42.600
I'm talking about money.

00:34:42.600 --> 00:34:44.600
And so we think to ourselves, how is this even possible?

00:34:44.600 --> 00:34:46.600
How are we going to accomplish this?

00:34:46.600 --> 00:34:52.600
What I have in mind, what God has dropped into my head, is so big that how in the world am I going to accomplish it?

00:34:52.600 --> 00:34:55.600
So we start sizing down our vision.

00:35:01.600 --> 00:35:04.600
Heaven allocates resources to unshackle vision.

00:35:04.600 --> 00:35:11.600
When a man or a woman of God has pressed it, extracted what God has for him, and begins to walk in righteousness and generosity,

00:35:11.600 --> 00:35:13.600
heaven allocates resources.

00:35:13.600 --> 00:35:24.600
You will have enough for what you need to do and more.

00:35:24.600 --> 00:35:31.600
I had a young family some three months ago that were really passionate about doing stuff.

00:35:31.600 --> 00:35:36.600
And they were pregnant.

00:35:36.600 --> 00:35:41.600
And so I was saying to myself, will their pregnancy slow them down?

00:35:41.600 --> 00:35:46.600
Because now they'll have to settle down and take care of the kid and this and that and the other.

00:35:46.600 --> 00:35:49.600
And I was talking to them, and both husband and wife said,

00:35:49.600 --> 00:35:53.600
If God could take care of me when I was single, both of us when we were married,

00:35:53.600 --> 00:36:02.600
then surely he can take care of the three of us while we pursue passionately what he desires for us.

00:36:02.600 --> 00:36:07.600
I'm thinking to myself, wow, for a young couple, that's remarkable.

00:36:07.600 --> 00:36:09.600
Because that's not how we normally think.

00:36:09.600 --> 00:36:13.600
Hey Diana, do we have a key for the kitchen?

00:36:13.600 --> 00:36:16.600
Yes, we do.

00:36:16.600 --> 00:36:21.600
Here.

00:36:21.600 --> 00:36:23.600
Yep.

00:36:23.600 --> 00:36:27.600
Hey, on your way out, just make sure the door is kind of closed.

00:36:27.600 --> 00:36:35.600
Thanks.

00:36:35.600 --> 00:36:43.600
If you capture vision, I don't know why I wrote it that way, if you capture it,

00:36:43.600 --> 00:36:47.600
it's almost like it's this thing that's floating around you.

00:36:47.600 --> 00:36:50.600
And God's saying, open your eyes, Jacob.

00:36:50.600 --> 00:36:55.600
Every few seconds it goes past you, if you capture it, if you can grab it.

00:36:55.600 --> 00:36:58.600
Have you ever gone for an F1 race, Formula 1 race?

00:36:58.600 --> 00:37:03.600
It's crazy. Those things go so fast that your head just keeps going this way.

00:37:03.600 --> 00:37:06.600
And you think you know who just went past you and keeps going this way.

00:37:06.600 --> 00:37:10.600
And even when you try to take a camera shot, you usually get nothing,

00:37:10.600 --> 00:37:12.600
because you get the space between cars.

00:37:12.600 --> 00:37:16.600
This was like when Elmer came with me to take a shot of,

00:37:16.600 --> 00:37:18.600
did I ever tell you this? Some of you weren't here.

00:37:18.600 --> 00:37:23.600
Elmer, the church gave me a birthday present.

00:37:23.600 --> 00:37:27.600
It was a two hour flight at the Pacific Flying Academy.

00:37:27.600 --> 00:37:30.600
And so I was very happy and I thought I should record it,

00:37:30.600 --> 00:37:33.600
because this is the first time I'm going to be flying.

00:37:33.600 --> 00:37:35.600
And so Elmer came with me.

00:37:35.600 --> 00:37:39.600
And Elmer's not here, so it's okay to say this when he's not here.

00:37:40.600 --> 00:37:44.600
And so I gave him my video camera and I said, make sure you record this.

00:37:44.600 --> 00:37:49.600
And so the plane started moving and Elmer kind of lost sight of the plane.

00:37:49.600 --> 00:37:52.600
And so after two hours I land and I'm looking for the video.

00:37:52.600 --> 00:37:58.600
And there's just me from my ankle down, which isn't much because I'm short.

00:38:00.600 --> 00:38:04.600
I can hear the plane. There's me from my ankle down and there's the tip of a wing.

00:38:04.600 --> 00:38:07.600
Then there's a lot of grass and sky.

00:38:07.600 --> 00:38:11.600
So it's a 30 minute video, but there's none of me, nor the plane, nor anything.

00:38:11.600 --> 00:38:15.600
What's the point of the story? There's absolutely no point.

00:38:15.600 --> 00:38:18.600
But here's the thing.

00:38:20.600 --> 00:38:27.600
If you can somehow capture a vision that God wants to give you and it's around you,

00:38:27.600 --> 00:38:32.600
and God's saying, Jacob, please open your eyes and I'll give you bits of it and pieces of it so you can develop it.

00:38:32.600 --> 00:38:36.600
If you capture it, listen to this, it will extend your life.

00:38:37.600 --> 00:38:40.600
It will extend your life.

00:38:42.600 --> 00:38:48.600
It will extend your life because God wants you to finish more.

00:38:48.600 --> 00:38:58.600
God wants you to enjoy everything he had for you when he first conceived you out of love in his mind.

00:38:58.600 --> 00:39:01.600
It'll extend your life. It'll light up your life.

00:39:01.600 --> 00:39:04.600
It'll light up your life. Why?

00:39:04.600 --> 00:39:09.600
Because there will be criticisms. You will mess up. You will do things wrong.

00:39:09.600 --> 00:39:14.600
But this thing just comes up like a wave and just lifts you up.

00:39:15.600 --> 00:39:17.600
And you're surfing again.

00:39:17.600 --> 00:39:19.600
Light up your life. It'll extend your life.

00:39:19.600 --> 00:39:23.600
It'll give meaning and direction. It'll give meaning and direction.

00:39:23.600 --> 00:39:30.600
Guys, you know, the great thing about a God-crafted vision is people don't give you meaning anymore.

00:39:31.600 --> 00:39:33.600
You don't have to have a big church or a small church.

00:39:33.600 --> 00:39:38.600
You don't have to sing like René or sing like Wayne.

00:39:38.600 --> 00:39:45.600
You can just be normal and it gives you meaning.

00:39:47.600 --> 00:39:51.600
This is the beauty of a God-crafted vision. Get it, guys.

00:39:52.600 --> 00:39:55.600
It gives you meaning. It gives you direction.

00:39:56.600 --> 00:40:00.600
It helps you endure through hard times.

00:40:00.600 --> 00:40:03.600
It helps you endure through hard times.

00:40:04.600 --> 00:40:24.600
Moses, Noah, Joseph, David, Jesus, Paul, Mandela, Martin Luther.

00:40:25.600 --> 00:40:30.600
And hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people in China, India, North Korea.

00:40:39.600 --> 00:40:41.600
It expresses your personality.

00:40:42.600 --> 00:40:45.600
God-given vision will express your personality.

00:40:45.600 --> 00:40:49.600
It is crafted for you. It is crafted with your personality in mind.

00:40:49.600 --> 00:40:54.600
I'd make a really bad accountant, given my personality.

00:41:06.600 --> 00:41:08.600
It'll express your personality.

00:41:10.600 --> 00:41:13.600
It'll benefit others and leave a legacy.

00:41:13.600 --> 00:41:16.600
It'll benefit others and leave a legacy.

00:41:16.600 --> 00:41:19.600
It'll benefit others and leave a legacy.

00:41:19.600 --> 00:41:22.600
Too bad we won't be at our funeral.

00:41:25.600 --> 00:41:27.600
I mean, you will be there, but you won't be there.

00:41:30.600 --> 00:41:33.600
It'll benefit others and it'll leave a legacy.

00:41:35.600 --> 00:41:40.600
Here's another one. It'll connect you with Jonathan's.

00:41:41.600 --> 00:41:43.600
It'll connect you with Jonathan's.

00:41:43.600 --> 00:41:48.600
As in people who will come alongside you and pledge their allegiance and run with you.

00:41:48.600 --> 00:41:52.600
Only a brother can run with a brother or a sister with a sister.

00:41:53.600 --> 00:41:56.600
It'll connect you to Jonathan's. It'll connect you to Aquila's and Priscilla's.

00:41:56.600 --> 00:42:02.600
As in people who will come and work in the very same trade that you're working in.

00:42:02.600 --> 00:42:05.600
But your souls are knit together and you learn how to run.

00:42:05.600 --> 00:42:07.600
It'll connect you to Elisha's.

00:42:07.600 --> 00:42:12.600
As in ones who will continue with the legacy you leave on earth.

00:42:12.600 --> 00:42:22.600
It'll connect you with Paul's who have run this path before you and have flattened the ground out so that you can run faster.

00:42:22.600 --> 00:42:24.600
And it'll connect you with Cyrus's.

00:42:24.600 --> 00:42:28.600
Who are Cyrus's? Cyrus's are people that God raises.

00:42:29.600 --> 00:42:36.600
Who become channels of resources through which you can accomplish what God wants.

00:42:36.600 --> 00:42:41.600
You don't have the ability, but God raises up a Cyrus or a Nebuchadnezzar.

00:42:41.600 --> 00:42:46.600
And these guys who are pagans have the ability to suddenly have their heart touched by God.

00:42:46.600 --> 00:42:50.600
And they begin to do for you things that seem impossible.

00:42:53.600 --> 00:43:00.600
And then when you finish your life here on earth and you get to heaven, you reap the rewards of what you did on earth.

00:43:00.600 --> 00:43:03.600
Because you ran within the tracks that God had set for you.

00:43:03.600 --> 00:43:07.600
Because you had a vision and you did not cast away restraint.

00:43:07.600 --> 00:43:10.600
But you were constrained within the tracks God set for you.

00:43:10.600 --> 00:43:12.600
And you kept running, kept running.

00:43:12.600 --> 00:43:18.600
And if you do that, we will make sure that we put on your tombstone saying, he did run the race.

00:43:18.600 --> 00:43:20.600
He did finish it.

00:43:20.600 --> 00:43:23.600
Otherwise, don't come looking for it.

00:43:24.600 --> 00:43:28.600
We'll put stuff like, here lies a good person.

00:43:32.600 --> 00:43:35.600
One of the rewards in heaven, I touched on this briefly last time.

00:43:36.600 --> 00:43:38.600
Privileges.

00:43:38.600 --> 00:43:41.600
What are we talking about? Privileges in heaven.

00:43:41.600 --> 00:43:44.600
You get the privilege of taking off your crown and laying it before the king.

00:43:45.600 --> 00:43:49.600
Make sure you got enough crowns here to take that.

00:43:51.600 --> 00:43:53.600
You get the privilege of laying your crown before him.

00:43:53.600 --> 00:43:56.600
You get praise. What kind of praise?

00:43:56.600 --> 00:43:59.600
Well done, good and faithful servant.

00:44:00.600 --> 00:44:02.600
Not everybody hears that.

00:44:04.600 --> 00:44:07.600
And you get positions. What kind of positions?

00:44:07.600 --> 00:44:09.600
Responsibilities.

00:44:10.600 --> 00:44:14.600
Where you get to discharge things for the king in the life after.

00:44:17.600 --> 00:44:22.600
So start envisioning the whole idea of a God-crafted vision.

00:44:22.600 --> 00:44:27.600
And know that where you start is in the assurance of the father's love and favor.

00:44:27.600 --> 00:44:34.600
Where did Joseph grasp this whole idea of a vision that could fuel him?

00:44:34.600 --> 00:44:36.600
He learned it in his father's house.

00:44:36.600 --> 00:44:38.600
He learned it in his father's house.

00:44:38.600 --> 00:44:44.600
He learned that he had a dad who loved him and gave him a robe of many colors.

00:44:44.600 --> 00:44:49.600
Showed his demonstrated delight through that robe and gave him great favor.

00:44:50.600 --> 00:44:52.600
That's where all vision starts.

00:44:52.600 --> 00:44:58.600
This is not some kind of banker we go to and say, here's my collateral, can I have a vision?

00:44:58.600 --> 00:45:01.600
No, this is a father who has dreams for his children.

00:45:01.600 --> 00:45:06.600
And so it starts in the father's house where you learn to be loved by the father and walk in his favor.

00:45:06.600 --> 00:45:13.600
Guys, if I don't understand how much God loves me and how favored I am, I won't have the guts to dream.

00:45:13.600 --> 00:45:17.600
You only dream in a house where you are loved and you know his favor.

00:45:19.600 --> 00:45:25.600
Orphans don't, orphans dream, but when orphans dream, they dream wishfully.

00:45:25.600 --> 00:45:28.600
They dream of changing their circumstances.

00:45:28.600 --> 00:45:35.600
But when you grow up in a house where you have a father and you are loved, you don't dream about changing your circumstances.

00:45:35.600 --> 00:45:37.600
You dream the dreams of a father.

00:45:37.600 --> 00:45:39.600
You dream beyond.

00:45:39.600 --> 00:45:41.600
You don't dream for yourself, man.

00:45:44.600 --> 00:45:50.600
That's the beauty of having the knowledge of a father who loves you.

00:45:50.600 --> 00:45:57.600
That's the beauty of having the knowledge of a father who loves you and who favors you.

00:45:59.600 --> 00:46:03.600
He learned to dream there. He developed a sense of destiny in his father's house.

00:46:03.600 --> 00:46:08.600
It's in the father's house where you're loved that you sense destiny.

00:46:08.600 --> 00:46:11.600
Otherwise it's, I got to make something out of my life.

00:46:11.600 --> 00:46:14.600
Really? And what if you don't make it? Or what if you don't match up?

00:46:14.600 --> 00:46:18.600
And just when you've made it, some other guy who doesn't deserve it does better than you.

00:46:18.600 --> 00:46:20.600
And now you've got to start all over again.

00:46:24.600 --> 00:46:30.600
One of the things Joseph learned in his father's house is he learned that his father trusted him even when his brothers hated him.

00:46:31.600 --> 00:46:33.600
That helped him a lot, eh?

00:46:35.600 --> 00:46:43.600
When you know your father trusts you, you know it makes it so much easier to go up to your father and ask for different parts of the dream.

00:46:48.600 --> 00:46:52.600
And once you get the vision, guys, it is tested. It is tested.

00:46:52.600 --> 00:47:00.600
Psalm 105 verse 19 says that the word of the Lord tested Joseph.

00:47:00.600 --> 00:47:06.600
As in, his hands were put in shackles, his feet were put in chains, and the word of the Lord tested him.

00:47:06.600 --> 00:47:13.600
Vision will be tested. Vision will be tested. It will be tested by time. It will be tested by time.

00:47:13.600 --> 00:47:19.600
Make time your ally. It will be tested by time. Every vision in the Bible was tested by time.

00:47:22.600 --> 00:47:28.600
And one of the things that this church must learn, and when I say this church, I mean anybody sitting under this roof right now,

00:47:28.600 --> 00:47:32.600
you must learn that time does not mean delay.

00:47:33.600 --> 00:47:37.600
Time is just tick-tock, tick-tock. It will test you.

00:47:37.600 --> 00:47:38.600
It will test.

00:47:38.600 --> 00:47:49.600
Many other dreams that God has given that have been buried because it took longer than you expected, and your expectations were so off the mark.

00:47:51.600 --> 00:47:53.600
Time will test it.

00:47:54.600 --> 00:47:55.600
Disrepute will test it.

00:47:55.600 --> 00:48:01.600
As in, the lack of reputation or a bad reputation because you may have a bad reputation,

00:48:01.600 --> 00:48:02.600
Disrepute will test it.

00:48:02.600 --> 00:48:10.600
As in, the lack of reputation or a bad reputation because you messed up, or someone else messed up and put the blame on you.

00:48:11.600 --> 00:48:13.600
Lack of reputation will test you.

00:48:14.600 --> 00:48:18.600
But you don't have a reputation. Either it's ruined or you never had one to begin with.

00:48:19.600 --> 00:48:20.600
Hallelujah!

00:48:22.600 --> 00:48:24.600
Jesus wasn't a man of much reputation.

00:48:24.600 --> 00:48:28.600
Neither was Paul. He was the Bible's most prolific murderer.

00:48:36.600 --> 00:48:38.600
Insignificance will test you.

00:48:38.600 --> 00:48:40.600
Insignificance will test you.

00:48:40.600 --> 00:48:42.600
You are learning in hiddenness.

00:48:43.600 --> 00:48:47.600
God is teaching you stuff, but no one's recognizing it.

00:48:48.600 --> 00:48:52.600
There are times you sit and listen and you itch to see what God is teaching you.

00:48:52.600 --> 00:48:57.600
You sit and listen and you itch to speak, but no one gives you any place to speak.

00:48:58.600 --> 00:49:01.600
You want to say things, but there is no room for it.

00:49:01.600 --> 00:49:03.600
You're insignificant. Nobody notices you.

00:49:04.600 --> 00:49:10.600
Great! For you have just fallen into the Isaiah 52 or 53 verse which says,

00:49:10.600 --> 00:49:13.600
He was a man who you wouldn't be given a second look.

00:49:13.600 --> 00:49:16.600
He was like a dry shoot that no one would look at.

00:49:17.600 --> 00:49:19.600
Insignificance will test your vision.

00:49:19.600 --> 00:49:22.600
You see why it is easy to go for targets, goals and projects.

00:49:25.600 --> 00:49:31.600
How pathetic it is when we live our lives with targets, goals and projects.

00:49:31.600 --> 00:49:33.600
A vision should craft it.

00:49:34.600 --> 00:49:37.600
You can't take targets, goals and projects and put them together and say,

00:49:37.600 --> 00:49:38.600
Aha! Now I have a vision.

00:49:38.600 --> 00:49:40.600
It never comes first. It comes after.

00:49:42.600 --> 00:49:44.600
Insignificance will test you.

00:49:44.600 --> 00:49:46.600
Insignificance will test you.

00:49:49.600 --> 00:49:51.600
Opposition will test you.

00:49:51.600 --> 00:49:56.600
If you don't have someone telling you that you are crazy for what you're going to do,

00:49:56.600 --> 00:49:58.600
then you're not crazy enough.

00:50:03.600 --> 00:50:06.600
When I left to start Acts 29,

00:50:07.600 --> 00:50:11.600
certain elders from my past came to me and said,

00:50:11.600 --> 00:50:17.600
Hey, why don't you just go try this Acts 29 thing out for three months?

00:50:18.600 --> 00:50:19.600
We won't tell anybody.

00:50:19.600 --> 00:50:21.600
We'll tell people that you're on a sabbatical.

00:50:22.600 --> 00:50:25.600
Try this out. Get it out of your system and come back.

00:50:26.600 --> 00:50:28.600
And we'll give you a better salary.

00:50:30.600 --> 00:50:35.600
Because they just thought this was something that Jacob just needed to get out of his system.

00:50:36.600 --> 00:50:38.600
So why not give him three months? Pay him.

00:50:38.600 --> 00:50:41.600
Let him get it out and let him come back and return to normal.

00:50:43.600 --> 00:50:46.600
If your vision is not opposed,

00:50:47.600 --> 00:50:49.600
something is wrong.

00:50:51.600 --> 00:50:54.600
People should find it way beyond you.

00:50:54.600 --> 00:50:56.600
And there will be a lack of resources.

00:50:56.600 --> 00:50:59.600
Your vision will be tested by your inadequacy.

00:51:00.600 --> 00:51:02.600
Your vision will be tested by your inadequacy.

00:51:02.600 --> 00:51:05.600
And these things come along with CUP.

00:51:06.600 --> 00:51:12.600
And once these things come, usually this is sufficient to break you.

00:51:12.600 --> 00:51:16.600
And this is when it is critical to have either those that have run before you

00:51:16.600 --> 00:51:19.600
or ones that can hold your arms up during that time.

00:51:19.600 --> 00:51:24.600
Because otherwise it's very, very hard to stand under so much pressure.

00:51:31.600 --> 00:51:34.600
Seduction and satanic traps will try and sabotage vision.

00:51:34.600 --> 00:51:38.600
Seduction and satanic traps will try and sabotage vision.

00:51:39.600 --> 00:51:42.600
Seduction, Joseph, Potiphar's wife.

00:51:42.600 --> 00:51:45.600
Seduction, David.

00:51:47.600 --> 00:51:50.600
And that lady who was taking a bath. What's her name?

00:51:50.600 --> 00:51:52.600
There you go.

00:51:53.600 --> 00:51:58.600
Seduction and satanic traps will sabotage vision.

00:52:04.600 --> 00:52:07.600
The more you step into what God has for you guys,

00:52:07.600 --> 00:52:13.600
the more you need to make sure that you don't get caught in seduction.

00:52:13.600 --> 00:52:15.600
And it gets easier, right?

00:52:15.600 --> 00:52:19.600
It gets easier to sidestep and know trouble before it comes.

00:52:19.600 --> 00:52:22.600
Because the Bible says, the prudent sees evil coming.

00:52:22.600 --> 00:52:24.600
And he ducks.

00:52:25.600 --> 00:52:28.600
And he doesn't say he ducks, it's something like that.

00:52:29.600 --> 00:52:32.600
And he what? Hides himself. Yeah.

00:52:35.600 --> 00:52:37.600
So, let's conclude.

00:52:40.600 --> 00:52:46.600
Here are some simple ways to go about answering May's question.

00:52:47.600 --> 00:52:51.600
First, look at your photo album. Look at your photo album.

00:52:51.600 --> 00:52:54.600
To figure out vision, here are some simple steps.

00:52:54.600 --> 00:52:58.600
One, look at your photo album. As in, look at your past.

00:52:59.600 --> 00:53:03.600
The ways and the works of the Holy Spirit that have dotted your life scape.

00:53:03.600 --> 00:53:08.600
The ways and the works of the Holy Spirit that have dotted your life scape.

00:53:08.600 --> 00:53:10.600
Look at your past.

00:53:10.600 --> 00:53:16.600
You'll see God having done certain things over the last 3, 4, 5 years.

00:53:16.600 --> 00:53:18.600
He did this here, he did that there.

00:53:18.600 --> 00:53:23.600
And as you look at it, you get an idea of who you are.

00:53:24.600 --> 00:53:26.600
You get an idea of who you are.

00:53:27.600 --> 00:53:30.600
So look at your photo album.

00:53:34.600 --> 00:53:43.600
Second, telescope into the future through going over the prophetic spoken over you.

00:53:43.600 --> 00:53:50.600
Telescope into the future, telescope into the future through the prophetic spoken over you.

00:53:53.600 --> 00:53:56.600
This is the hard work part of it, eh?

00:53:56.600 --> 00:54:00.600
Telescope into the future through the prophetic spoken over you.

00:54:00.600 --> 00:54:03.600
I know that every time you do that, C-U-P come into play.

00:54:03.600 --> 00:54:06.600
Complacency as in, I'll do it tomorrow.

00:54:06.600 --> 00:54:08.600
Eh, well, I don't know about this word.

00:54:08.600 --> 00:54:10.600
It hasn't come to pass.

00:54:10.600 --> 00:54:13.600
It's been 8 months. Really? 8 months takes 9 months to make a baby.

00:54:13.600 --> 00:54:15.600
The prophetic takes longer.

00:54:15.600 --> 00:54:24.600
Unbelief as in, yep, I know this was spoken, but really I don't think I have the ability to do this now.

00:54:24.600 --> 00:54:25.600
Or procrastination.

00:54:25.600 --> 00:54:28.600
Yes, this is good, but I've got to get a job first.

00:54:30.600 --> 00:54:32.600
Let me just stop on that.

00:54:32.600 --> 00:54:36.600
I've got to get a job first because I need to settle things that I need to settle.

00:54:36.600 --> 00:54:38.600
And then I can pursue this.

00:54:38.600 --> 00:54:49.600
But what if, what if you went the path that the Lord is crafting for you and the job matches the path crafted for you?

00:54:49.600 --> 00:54:52.600
Let me take the story of two brothers.

00:54:52.600 --> 00:54:56.600
One brother finished his job and went to the forest.

00:54:56.600 --> 00:54:58.600
So we are two brothers.

00:54:58.600 --> 00:55:03.600
One brother finished his engineering degree in UBC.

00:55:03.600 --> 00:55:08.600
I don't know whether he learned anything, but he did get a degree because I did go for his graduation.

00:55:08.600 --> 00:55:12.600
And then he was looking for a job.

00:55:12.600 --> 00:55:14.600
And he couldn't find a job.

00:55:14.600 --> 00:55:16.600
And he's now beginning to use up his money.

00:55:16.600 --> 00:55:21.600
Doesn't want to call his parents and ask for more.

00:55:21.600 --> 00:55:22.600
Kept applying.

00:55:22.600 --> 00:55:24.600
Finally he did get a job.

00:55:24.600 --> 00:55:26.600
But it's in Toronto.

00:55:26.600 --> 00:55:28.600
It's a good job. It pays him well.

00:55:28.600 --> 00:55:32.600
He's been without a job now for two and a half or three months.

00:55:32.600 --> 00:55:41.600
And yet there's something in him that says that even though I can go tomorrow and take up this job in Toronto and it's a well-paying job,

00:55:41.600 --> 00:55:46.600
I know that somehow what God has crafted for me is still here.

00:55:46.600 --> 00:55:49.600
And so he doesn't take the job up.

00:55:49.600 --> 00:55:52.600
Three months become four, four months become five, five months become six.

00:55:52.600 --> 00:55:55.600
And he doesn't have a job.

00:55:55.600 --> 00:56:08.600
And he refuses to choose illegal means of earning an income by going, working in a place where they can give you cash and not do it correctly.

00:56:08.600 --> 00:56:13.600
And so he refuses to do it under the table and not through the right means.

00:56:13.600 --> 00:56:16.600
So he chooses not to even work like that.

00:56:16.600 --> 00:56:19.600
Six months pass.

00:56:19.600 --> 00:56:30.600
And then God opens a place for him in Surrey where he gets a job and has tremendous favor on him.

00:56:30.600 --> 00:56:32.600
And so then there's a second brother.

00:56:32.600 --> 00:56:38.600
Second brother is in the same situation now.

00:56:38.600 --> 00:56:41.600
What? You know these brothers?

00:56:41.600 --> 00:56:45.600
Ashraf, I thought I was telling you a story that you didn't know.

00:56:45.600 --> 00:56:51.600
But the second brother is going to learn from his elder brother and stick with what God has for him.

00:56:51.600 --> 00:56:55.600
I'm not saying don't go to Toronto. Actually I am, but I'm not.

00:56:55.600 --> 00:56:59.600
But who goes to Toronto?

00:56:59.600 --> 00:57:09.600
Pardon? Oh, sorry Jason, I forgot.

00:57:09.600 --> 00:57:12.600
Sorry, that wasn't a prophetic word. Feel free to go to Toronto.

00:57:12.600 --> 00:57:19.600
Well the point is this guys, that sometimes it is more important to understand the vision of God

00:57:19.600 --> 00:57:22.600
before you jump into things that will settle your life.

00:57:22.600 --> 00:57:28.600
Because it will settle your life, but it will nail you down.

00:57:28.600 --> 00:57:33.600
So once you're nailed down, it's very hard to move.

00:57:33.600 --> 00:57:34.600
I just needed to stop on that.

00:57:34.600 --> 00:57:39.600
Third thing, look at the house.

00:57:39.600 --> 00:57:42.600
Let me use words that are simpler.

00:57:42.600 --> 00:57:49.600
Look at the church, all the leader or pastor or mentor or spiritual father you're connected to.

00:57:49.600 --> 00:57:52.600
And it will give you an idea of some of your traits.

00:57:52.600 --> 00:57:56.600
Look at the church. Guys, let me put it this way.

00:57:56.600 --> 00:58:02.600
And we have visitors today, so I don't mean to make this some kind of an exclusive statement.

00:58:02.600 --> 00:58:11.600
But if you are comfortable in this church, then it is because this church has certain traits.

00:58:11.600 --> 00:58:14.600
And those traits have now become part of your life.

00:58:14.600 --> 00:58:20.600
And so one of the ways you find out the vision that God has crafted for you is by figuring out

00:58:20.600 --> 00:58:29.600
where am I located in terms of church and how well or how do I connect to the person who is

00:58:29.600 --> 00:58:32.600
pastoring the church or to a spiritual father or to a mentor.

00:58:32.600 --> 00:58:37.600
Because you will take on the traits of those that you connect to.

00:58:37.600 --> 00:58:45.600
If your school, which you attended when you were a kid, influenced you, secular school,

00:58:45.600 --> 00:58:52.600
then imagine how much the church that you attend actually influences you.

00:58:52.600 --> 00:58:58.600
And it is natural for you to have the traits of the one you're connected to,

00:58:58.600 --> 00:59:00.600
of the ones you're connected to. Very natural.

00:59:00.600 --> 00:59:06.600
It will give you an idea of where you're heading.

00:59:06.600 --> 00:59:12.600
In this church, if you're really connected to this church and to me as a pastor,

00:59:12.600 --> 00:59:15.600
it is impossible for you to avoid three things.

00:59:15.600 --> 00:59:19.600
One, pioneering. Two, the prophetic. Three, hearing God.

00:59:19.600 --> 00:59:22.600
It is impossible for you to come out of this.

00:59:22.600 --> 00:59:27.600
If you've attached yourself to this church, you will have the same experience that Saul had

00:59:27.600 --> 00:59:33.600
where he was with a company of prophets and the guy, thank God we don't have to do exactly what Saul did.

00:59:33.600 --> 00:59:38.600
He stripped himself naked and started prophesying.

00:59:38.600 --> 00:59:43.600
But it will happen to you because the house and the person you're connected to

00:59:43.600 --> 00:59:46.600
will begin to show in your life. It's impossible not to.

00:59:50.600 --> 00:59:55.600
Fourth, look at the grace.

00:59:55.600 --> 01:00:02.600
Let me put it this way. Have an idea of your most enjoyed skills,

01:00:02.600 --> 01:00:07.600
of your values, of your personality traits, of your preferred roles,

01:00:07.600 --> 01:00:12.600
of your compelling interests, of your spiritual gifts and the grace on your life.

01:00:12.600 --> 01:00:17.600
Let me say that again. Have an idea of your most enjoyed skills,

01:00:17.600 --> 01:00:24.600
your values, your personality traits, your preferred roles,

01:00:24.600 --> 01:00:30.600
your compelling interests, your spiritual gifts and the grace on your life.

01:00:30.600 --> 01:00:38.600
Sure. Look at... have an idea of your most enjoyed skills.

01:00:38.600 --> 01:00:44.600
Have an idea of your most enjoyed skills, your values, your personality traits,

01:00:44.600 --> 01:00:51.600
your preferred roles, your preferred roles, your compelling interests,

01:00:51.600 --> 01:00:56.600
your spiritual gifts and the grace on your life. Look at that.

01:00:56.600 --> 01:01:06.600
And you will surely have an idea of our shucks, Father, so this is how you made me. Ha!

01:01:06.600 --> 01:01:08.600
Two more and we're done.

01:01:08.600 --> 01:01:13.600
The last one was spiritual gifts and the grace that is in your life.

01:01:13.600 --> 01:01:21.600
By grace I mean the fivefold grace of the apostolic, the prophetic,

01:01:21.600 --> 01:01:24.600
the teaching, the pastoring and evangelism.

01:01:24.600 --> 01:01:27.600
Sometimes some of us have that too. That makes a big difference.

01:01:27.600 --> 01:01:31.600
Next, look at the present context you have been in.

01:01:31.600 --> 01:01:34.600
Look at the present context you have been placed in.

01:01:34.600 --> 01:01:37.600
Look at the present context you have been placed in.

01:01:37.600 --> 01:01:45.600
Some of us are retired. Some of us have had sudden financial breakthroughs.

01:01:45.600 --> 01:01:49.600
Some of us have been elevated in position. Some of us are pregnant.

01:01:49.600 --> 01:01:53.600
Some of us have new callings that are entering our life.

01:01:53.600 --> 01:01:56.600
Some of us have had reformations that are not going to happen.

01:01:56.600 --> 01:01:59.600
Some of us have new callings that are entering our life.

01:01:59.600 --> 01:02:02.600
Some of us have had reformations in the way we think.

01:02:02.600 --> 01:02:06.600
Some of us have repented of certain things and have been able to walk well.

01:02:06.600 --> 01:02:08.600
Some of us are going from strength to strength.

01:02:08.600 --> 01:02:11.600
As you look at your present context and what God is doing,

01:02:11.600 --> 01:02:15.600
it gives you a ramp to fly off.

01:02:15.600 --> 01:02:20.600
It's almost like God is saying, Hey Sue, so you've retired. I've created time for you. Take off.

01:02:20.600 --> 01:02:25.600
Hey Jacob, you seem to enjoy traveling. More nations at your disposal.

01:02:25.600 --> 01:02:31.600
Hey Chris, you seem to be reforming in this area of your life. So let's begin this.

01:02:31.600 --> 01:02:35.600
Hey Mike, later Mike. And so you keep going.

01:02:35.600 --> 01:02:39.600
I had to take that shot at you after all that you did today.

01:02:39.600 --> 01:02:45.600
So look at the present context you have been placed in.

01:02:45.600 --> 01:02:49.600
And it will give you an idea of the kind of ramp that is being built.

01:02:49.600 --> 01:02:54.600
It will give you an idea of the ramp that is being built.

01:02:54.600 --> 01:02:58.600
Any questions before I go to the last one? Any questions?

01:02:58.600 --> 01:03:05.600
What? No questions? Rhonda?

01:03:05.600 --> 01:03:10.600
I thought so. Your face looked like a lot of questions.

01:03:10.600 --> 01:03:17.600
Question the questions? Ask one.

01:03:17.600 --> 01:03:22.600
It's a difficult one.

01:03:22.600 --> 01:03:27.600
It's a difficult one.

01:03:27.600 --> 01:03:32.600
I just don't know if it will come up over the next question.

01:03:32.600 --> 01:03:46.600
So it's like a vocation that you've been questioning your future goals in heaven as a question within your position.

01:03:46.600 --> 01:03:54.600
And there have been people that have spoken to you, spoken in my work, to be able to speak to you.

01:03:54.600 --> 01:04:05.600
So I love wounds. I have considered doing further education so that I can become a specialist in that area.

01:04:05.600 --> 01:04:15.600
In the last couple months, both of you have been working with us, have come to me separately and said you're doing a good job.

01:04:15.600 --> 01:04:20.600
What is the movement on speaking to each other?

01:04:20.600 --> 01:04:24.600
We've got to be coming up. That will happen in two forms.

01:04:24.600 --> 01:04:31.600
We want to move forward in what we've been saying to here.

01:04:31.600 --> 01:04:36.600
I kind of get your question.

01:04:36.600 --> 01:04:43.600
Let me answer it this way. Guys, when it comes to God-crafted vision, it may happen in two different ways.

01:04:43.600 --> 01:04:51.600
One, God may have called you to head a certain direction.

01:04:51.600 --> 01:04:59.600
And while he's asking you to head in that certain direction, there's stuff that you are presently doing.

01:04:59.600 --> 01:05:02.600
And so one of two things will happen.

01:05:02.600 --> 01:05:11.600
Either these dovetail or God tells you which one to prioritize.

01:05:11.600 --> 01:05:13.600
So it follows one after the other.

01:05:13.600 --> 01:05:19.600
So either there's a number one and then a number two and a number three, so you know how to prioritize it,

01:05:19.600 --> 01:05:25.600
or it all dovetails together where both these God is able to put together.

01:05:25.600 --> 01:05:30.600
So you don't have to leave what you're presently doing to head in a certain direction

01:05:30.600 --> 01:05:34.600
unless God specifically is telling you to head that way.

01:05:34.600 --> 01:05:35.600
You don't have to leave.

01:05:35.600 --> 01:05:42.600
So let's assume... I will.

01:05:42.600 --> 01:05:45.600
You've got to whisper quieter than that.

01:05:45.600 --> 01:05:51.600
So let's assume that Mark and Rhonda are called to do certain things here in Vancouver.

01:05:51.600 --> 01:05:53.600
That is the reason they left Quadra.

01:05:53.600 --> 01:05:59.600
At the same time, let's assume that Rhonda has this skill that she has with taking care of wounds,

01:05:59.600 --> 01:06:01.600
and she wants to pursue it further.

01:06:01.600 --> 01:06:02.600
They're not mutually exclusive.

01:06:02.600 --> 01:06:12.600
So she can still continue doing that while God helps them to head in the direction that they called you both to Vancouver for.

01:06:12.600 --> 01:06:19.600
Mark can still continue doing his construction while Mark and Rhonda still head towards doing what they're meant to do.

01:06:19.600 --> 01:06:22.600
Jesus did this continuously.

01:06:22.600 --> 01:06:23.600
Paul did this continuously.

01:06:23.600 --> 01:06:27.600
He kept building tents while he was doing what he was supposed to do.

01:06:27.600 --> 01:06:33.600
Jesus kept taking care of his family and indulging in his carpentry business while he was pursuing.

01:06:33.600 --> 01:06:38.600
It just is that at some point, the priorities begin to change.

01:06:38.600 --> 01:06:45.600
So this is the hard part, to figure out from God when one has become two and two has become three.

01:06:45.600 --> 01:06:49.600
What happens is, this may be how you start today, but six months from now,

01:06:49.600 --> 01:06:53.600
this is what I meant by saying you've got to keep climbing up the watchtower and look for God, saying,

01:06:53.600 --> 01:06:56.600
Father, has anything changed?

01:06:56.600 --> 01:07:06.600
Because six months from now, it could well be that three has become one, and two stays at two and one becomes one.

01:07:06.600 --> 01:07:13.600
This is the part that we sometimes forget, that God has reset things over the last six months.

01:07:13.600 --> 01:07:16.600
And so you go as he wants you to go.

01:07:16.600 --> 01:07:21.600
At one point, he stayed in Capernaum, Judea, Galilee, and those sites.

01:07:21.600 --> 01:07:24.600
And then suddenly everything changes. Everything changes.

01:07:24.600 --> 01:07:28.600
Peter makes a statement. Peter says, you are Christ, the Son of the living God.

01:07:28.600 --> 01:07:32.600
And from that moment on, something changes inside Jesus' head.

01:07:32.600 --> 01:07:36.600
And he says, he set his face like flint towards Jerusalem, and he started going towards Jerusalem.

01:07:36.600 --> 01:07:39.600
Now nothing would faze him from going on.

01:07:39.600 --> 01:07:43.600
Some Greeks came, and they came to Philip and they said, we want to see Jesus.

01:07:43.600 --> 01:07:49.600
Guess what Jesus did? Didn't meet with them.

01:07:49.600 --> 01:07:56.600
And yet before that, he would hang around a certain area, and then he changes.

01:07:56.600 --> 01:08:07.600
So one of the things we've got to learn, and this is critical, that every few months, Father, has anything changed?

01:08:07.600 --> 01:08:12.600
Because the way God made us, most of us know how to multitask.

01:08:12.600 --> 01:08:15.600
But has anything changed?

01:08:15.600 --> 01:08:22.600
Otherwise, guys, life takes over.

01:08:22.600 --> 01:08:28.600
And when life takes over, you follow it.

01:08:28.600 --> 01:08:36.600
And you try to create things to do that have a semblance of what God called you for.

01:08:36.600 --> 01:08:41.600
But isn't the real thing.

01:08:41.600 --> 01:08:45.600
Last point.

01:08:45.600 --> 01:08:52.600
Remember that God desires, as any father would, that you participate in his mission.

01:08:52.600 --> 01:08:58.600
Remember that God desires, as any father would, that you participate in his mission.

01:08:58.600 --> 01:09:01.600
So cultivate hearing. That's what I was talking about. Cultivate hearing.

01:09:01.600 --> 01:09:04.600
Father, you want me to participate in what you're doing.

01:09:04.600 --> 01:09:07.600
So which part of the fence do you want me to paint?

01:09:07.600 --> 01:09:10.600
Here I come with my small can of paint and a small brush that he gave me.

01:09:10.600 --> 01:09:15.600
While you paint the entire wall, tell me where to paint, and I'll start painting.

01:09:15.600 --> 01:09:17.600
I'll start painting. But show me where.

01:09:17.600 --> 01:09:22.600
Now, Father, I've finished this bit, so which bit do you want me to do next? This bit or this bit?

01:09:22.600 --> 01:09:28.600
Aha! I hear you. I'll start right here, and I'll change my can, because it's not white anymore. It's brown.

01:09:28.600 --> 01:09:29.600
And so I start painting it.

01:09:29.600 --> 01:09:33.600
Cultivate hearing, and do not despise the day of small beginnings.

01:09:33.600 --> 01:09:38.600
Change priorities as he sees fit. As he sees fit.

01:09:39.600 --> 01:09:43.600
He's a master weaver. There's nobody who sees things like he sees.

01:09:43.600 --> 01:09:46.600
I had a friend called Peter Boss. Some of you have met him.

01:09:46.600 --> 01:09:51.600
Peter had this ability to take a piece of canvas, put it in front of the church, and start drawing.

01:09:51.600 --> 01:09:53.600
And as he draws, you think it's a scribble.

01:09:53.600 --> 01:09:56.600
But that scribble begins to develop into something so stunning.

01:09:56.600 --> 01:09:58.600
But he could see it, and I couldn't.

01:09:58.600 --> 01:10:02.600
Master weaver, follow, follow, cultivate hearing, and keep going, guys.

01:10:02.600 --> 01:10:07.600
Guys, I've given you everything that we need to start this process.

01:10:07.600 --> 01:10:10.600
The only enemy you have is CUP.

01:10:18.600 --> 01:10:19.600
Yeah?

01:10:19.600 --> 01:10:25.600
So, Father, thank you, Holy Spirit. You are brilliant.

01:10:25.600 --> 01:10:30.600
Thank you, Holy Spirit. You are brilliant. You are brilliant.

01:10:30.600 --> 01:10:53.600
I pray that there be annoying, annoying and an annoying hunger inside us if we have not yet begun this process of grasping

01:10:54.600 --> 01:10:58.600
your God-crafted vision for us.

01:11:02.600 --> 01:11:11.600
And then let that hunger lead us to climb the watchtower and start looking and wait for the picture to develop and wrestle with the word,

01:11:11.600 --> 01:11:21.600
occasionally having our joints dislocated because we are pursuing you for a name change, for a vision change.

01:11:23.600 --> 01:11:27.600
I pray that for everybody seated here beginning with me.

01:11:28.600 --> 01:11:30.600
I pray that, Father,

01:11:33.600 --> 01:11:37.600
and under that overarching canopy of your vision,

01:11:40.600 --> 01:11:44.600
help us now be in a function of God, Spirit of God.

01:11:47.600 --> 01:11:49.600
I've laid out everything you gave.

01:11:50.600 --> 01:11:52.600
Now, please, Spirit of God, would you help us?

01:11:53.600 --> 01:11:58.600
Please help us to be humble enough and to be passionate enough to pursue this

01:12:00.600 --> 01:12:02.600
so that we don't get defined as procrastinators.

01:12:02.600 --> 01:12:04.600
Please, Spirit of God.

01:12:08.600 --> 01:12:10.600
In Jesus' name I ask.

01:12:11.600 --> 01:12:12.600
Amen.

01:12:14.600 --> 01:12:16.600
Thanks for listening, guys.