Vision

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

So, I want to talk about vision.

Wayne, am I good to go?

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

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

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

then they lack restraint. That's what

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aimless spirituality, okay.

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

Hosea 4:6

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,

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

So when

one lacks an

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

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

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

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

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

engaging in aimless spirituality.

Or when a people lack

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

you just get dull.

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

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

You and I love

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

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

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

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

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

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

component of life that if you don't have,

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

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

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

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

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

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

But okay, so guys,

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

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

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

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

meant to be accomplished

here on earth so that his purposes may be fulfilled.

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

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

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

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

we don't have a way to do it.

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

we have to settle for target project goals.

Any questions before we go on?

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

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

that even a child can understand.

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

Habakkuk 2:2

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

New Year resolutions are basically this.

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

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

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

Very few of us can write that down.

Surprising, eh?

So how do you define vision then?

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

How do you know you have a vision?

You must be able to write it down.

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

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

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

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

That is the beautiful thing about Jesus, eh?

Profound things said simply.

Anybody could understand it.

So how do you define then vision?

Vision is God's dream for your life.

What a brilliant statement, eh?

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

Vision is God's dream for your life.

Vision is God's dream for your life.

Vision is God's dream for your life.

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

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

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

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

Becomes an overarching canopy in your life,

covers everything from beginning to end,

and has portions to it, and has portions to it

that you are supposed to discover

explore, possess, build,

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

In appointed timeframes.

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

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

So, how do you define vision then?

Vision is God's dream for your life.

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

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

It just spreads over your life.

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

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

for a certain purpose to be accomplished.

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

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

And what are you supposed to do?

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

You're supposed to then possess it.

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

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

And it has to happen in appointed timeframes.

It can't be when I choose to.

But it has to happen in appointed timeframes.

And if it doesn't, all that changes is

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

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

And this keeps adding up.

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

So my mansion is smaller. I'm kidding.

I thought that was funny.

You thought it was funny too?

This could go down a totally different pathway.

Let's forget about mansions right now.

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

God is not reluctant to reveal his dream for you.

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

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

He's not reluctant. Which father is?

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

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

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

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

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

God had pressed in to extract it.

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

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

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

God's vision must apprehend you.

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

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

And then I see you beginning to run.

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

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

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

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

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.

Remember that. It is the vision of God.

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

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.

All three fall into the same category.

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

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

And see that in the life of Joseph.

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

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

What do you think Jesus did most of his life?

Make tables and chairs.

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

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,

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

that for the joy that was set before him.

And what was the joy?

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.

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

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

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

Habakkuk 2:2

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

Amen. Habakkuk 2, verse 14.

Habakkuk 2:14

Same with Paul, guys.

Paul had the same thing happening to him.

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

This is what's going to happen to him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Same with Abraham.

God is going to visit him.

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

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

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

Because he knows something's going to happen.

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

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

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

And yet what was the vision that fueled it?

He saw a city that was not built with hands.

And it kept him going, man.

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

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

And it saps your strength out, eh?

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

Vision leads you.

Because it's forever expanding.

You never get to the end of it.

It keeps expanding. It keeps expanding.

Any questions before we go on?

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

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

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

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

Oh, come on. I need a pair.

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

I could do stuff like if you really loved me.

Good idea.

Coming back to things more serious.

Guys, vision orients your goals.

Vision gives you goals.

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

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

Vision orients goals.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It readjusts your focus, eh?

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

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

It ignites your passion.

It ignites your passion.

How do you know people who have vision?

There is passion.

There is passion.

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

It ignites passion.

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

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

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

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

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

When you prioritize, you create time.

When you prioritize, you create time.

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

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

There's never a lack of time.

It's only a lack of priorities.

Whenever I prioritize stuff, I always have the time.

I always have time for hockey.

I always have time for a good cup of coffee.

I always have time to watch CNN.

I always have time.

And yet, when I don't like you or I don't think you're a priority, I can come up with a meeting.

Vision readjusts focus.

It streamlines things.

And what do I mean by streamline?

You drop things that are not necessary.

Just let it go.

It's not important anymore.

And it accurately apportions time, talent, strength, treasure, relationships.

Time, talent, strength, treasure, relationships.

Everything finds its place when vision ignites passion because you know what you're running after.

Having painted such an amazing picture of what God-crafted vision can do for you, now comes the tough part.

Grasping vision is hard work.

Grasping vision is hard work, which is why goals, targets, and goals are so important.

Goals, targets, and projects are so easy.

Grasping vision is hard work.

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.

Habakkuk 2 · chapter mention

Habakkuk says in chapter 2 that I will climb the watchtower and I will look for God.

So there's this whole idea of climbing a watchtower.

Habakkuk says, I need an answer for what I'm looking for.

So I'm going to climb the watchtower and I'm going to start looking for God.

Like I always say, he's not a cosmic vending machine where you pop in a coin and out comes God.

No, there is this thing called looking for him, seeking him, pressing in for him.

And that is difficult for us, guys. It is difficult for us.

It has always been difficult for man.

But it's more difficult for us because of the instant way we want things done.

So you've got to go look for him. Climb the watchtower.

What does climbing the watchtower mean? I really don't know.

We don't do it nowadays. All it means is do something to find him, however you find him.

But once that happens, you have to have the patience to develop the picture.

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.

And you would take pictures and then you would have to wait three days.

If you were a member at Costco, you waited only one day.

But if you were a savant, you gave it in there for three days and they would lose it first.

And then on the fifth day they would find it. On the sixth day they would give it back to you.

And you would get these pictures. Guys, it takes time to develop the picture that God gives.

We don't have the time for that. I'm telling you, you want a God-crafted vision.

It is going to be hard work.

It is going to be hard work. Because you've got to climb the watchtower and look for God.

After looking for God, as he begins to speak, you've got to begin to write down what he's saying.

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.

One, he paints the large picture of what it will look like at the end.

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.

This is how he normally does things. And so it takes time to develop. Do you have the time?

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.

Churches do this, pastors do this, and you and I do this.

What is your God-crafted vision?

May you hurt if you don't know it.

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.

You've got a rich father who's willing to give it. Go get it.

Questions? Comments? Disagreements?

Jim and Linda are about to leave the building. Jim has left the building.

See you, Linda.

That's the rest of the solution.

Alrighty, mate.

Okay, guys, here are some of the things we need to do if we have to grasp vision.

One, climb the watchtower and look for God. Patience, develop the picture.

Three, wrestling with the Word. Wrestling with the Word.

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.

So, when he wants to provide something, he'll provide it by the Spirit of God.

He expects you to have an understanding of the Word so that you understand what he's saying.

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.

But he uses this. He uses these three methods to begin to paint a picture for you.

Fourth, I'm just running through this.

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.

He's not interested first in using you in what he wants.

He wants you to become something so that he can have you do something.

He wants you to become something.

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.

It's completely counter-cultural where the world says, do this and you will become this.

And God says, become this and then you will do this.

This is why vision is critical because you cannot become what you need to become unless you see what God wants.

This is why when Moses takes Israel out into the desert, first he has a meeting with God in the burning bush.

The bush just blazes and he hears God and that changes Moses.

Here was a man who was taking care of sheep and now his heart is changed.

Great. Now he takes Israel out.

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.

So what happens? On Mount Sinai, he goes up.

Guess how many days he stayed there with God? I was surprised. I thought it was only 40. It was 120 days.

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.

Now he's got to go another 40 days. I don't know if he ate in between. I have a feeling he did.

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.

120 days, four months God camped on a mountain in the middle of Sinai and Moses saw him day after day after day.

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.

Till the 100 and whatever day when they ate and drank with God.

Brilliant, huh?

But Moses needed a new vision if he were to lead the people.

This is why I said vision keeps expanding and if it doesn't expand, know that something is wrong.

If you... yeah, we'll get there later.

Stay with it guys. Don't let things crowd out that which will fuel your life.

Don't let things crowd out that which will fuel your life.

Make the main thing the main thing.

Well-meaning Christians and missionaries and everything else crowd out God-crafted vision because of the work they get involved in.

And so they have to settle for targets, for responsibilities, for goals, for projects.

Here are three things that are deadly enemies of vision.

Three things that are deadly enemies of vision.

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.

Here are three deadly enemies of vision.

First one is complacency.

Complacency.

The second one is unbelief.

The third one is procrastination.

Complacency, unbelief, procrastination.

Deadly enemies of vision. The complacent won't grasp the vision.

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.

Let some prophet come along and prophesy on me and after six prophets prophesy on me, perhaps I'll get the hang of it.

And by that time I'll be ready for retirement anyways and spend the time serving the Lord.

And then you die just before retirement.

So it doesn't work out.

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.

The complacent won't be able to grasp vision.

The unbelieving won't embrace it with faith.

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.

You just don't have it.

You're completely inadequate for it.

Because it's way beyond you.

And therefore you'll need faith.

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.

And then the last one is procrastination where the ones that procrastinate will not be able to walk in it.

They have the faith for it.

They have the ability to grasp it.

But they don't have the ability to walk in it.

Because I love this definition of procrastination.

When we think of procrastination, we think, ah, doing tomorrow what we can do today.

That is way too simplistic.

Listen to this and it really hits homey.

Procrastination is a practice of doing more pleasurable things, carrying out less urgent tasks and putting off impending tasks to a later time.

Procrastination is a practice of doing more pleasurable things instead of the hard things.

It is carrying out less urgent tasks than what is important.

And putting off impending tasks to a later time.

One more time.

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.

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.

Procrastination is a practice of doing the more pleasurable things than the hard things.

Like, yeah, more pleasurable things than the hard things.

It is carrying out less urgent tasks at the cost of the more urgent tasks.

And it is the tendency to put off impending tasks to a later time.

Put off impending tasks to a later time.

Man, the second thing really grabbed me when it says concentrating on less urgent tasks and putting off the main things.

And that kind of ties in with what Betty was talking about where your mind begins to meander.

You know there is an urgent task to do.

But why not do this because it suddenly occurred to me.

And so you go down this rabbit trail doing things that are so not important in the present context.

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.

You need training to develop, validate and run in the vision.

Paul had this vision in Damascus.

He disappears for a time and begins to learn from God.

But then look at what he does in Galatians chapter 2 verse 2.

Galatians 2:2

In Galatians 2 he returns to Jerusalem.

Why is he returning to Jerusalem?

Because he wants to go meet with the apostles.

Why is he meeting with the apostles?

Because he wants to tell them what he thinks is God's vision for him.

And he says, I wanted to go talk to them to make sure that I wasn't running in vain.

I wasn't running in vain.

So one needs help.

One needs to connect to people who've run the path you're planning to run.

Connect to trainers.

Connect to those that have run before so that you'll know how to exit present circumstances and excel.

Because the Bible says, iron sharpens iron.

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.

Generosity and righteousness.

All these principles can be practiced in the world and they'll do very well.

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.

But if you have a God vision, walk in righteousness, as in desire to be pure.

And two, be generous.

Because what you have to do is so big that you need resources for it, man.

And resources do not come your way unless your hands are willing to be generous.

Heaven allocates resources to unshackle your vision.

Heaven allocates resources to unshackle vision.

Heaven allocates resources to unshackle vision.

Guys, you've got to be so sure of this.

Because most of us do not even want to dream of God-crafted vision because it's going to cost a lot.

I'm talking about money.

And so we think to ourselves, how is this even possible?

How are we going to accomplish this?

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?

So we start sizing down our vision.

Heaven allocates resources to unshackle vision.

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,

heaven allocates resources.

You will have enough for what you need to do and more.

I had a young family some three months ago that were really passionate about doing stuff.

And they were pregnant.

And so I was saying to myself, will their pregnancy slow them down?

Because now they'll have to settle down and take care of the kid and this and that and the other.

And I was talking to them, and both husband and wife said,

If God could take care of me when I was single, both of us when we were married,

then surely he can take care of the three of us while we pursue passionately what he desires for us.

I'm thinking to myself, wow, for a young couple, that's remarkable.

Because that's not how we normally think.

Hey Diana, do we have a key for the kitchen?

Yes, we do.

Here.

Yep.

Hey, on your way out, just make sure the door is kind of closed.

Thanks.

If you capture vision, I don't know why I wrote it that way, if you capture it,

it's almost like it's this thing that's floating around you.

And God's saying, open your eyes, Jacob.

Every few seconds it goes past you, if you capture it, if you can grab it.

Have you ever gone for an F1 race, Formula 1 race?

It's crazy. Those things go so fast that your head just keeps going this way.

And you think you know who just went past you and keeps going this way.

And even when you try to take a camera shot, you usually get nothing,

because you get the space between cars.

This was like when Elmer came with me to take a shot of,

did I ever tell you this? Some of you weren't here.

Elmer, the church gave me a birthday present.

It was a two hour flight at the Pacific Flying Academy.

And so I was very happy and I thought I should record it,

because this is the first time I'm going to be flying.

And so Elmer came with me.

And Elmer's not here, so it's okay to say this when he's not here.

And so I gave him my video camera and I said, make sure you record this.

And so the plane started moving and Elmer kind of lost sight of the plane.

And so after two hours I land and I'm looking for the video.

And there's just me from my ankle down, which isn't much because I'm short.

I can hear the plane. There's me from my ankle down and there's the tip of a wing.

Then there's a lot of grass and sky.

So it's a 30 minute video, but there's none of me, nor the plane, nor anything.

What's the point of the story? There's absolutely no point.

But here's the thing.

If you can somehow capture a vision that God wants to give you and it's around you,

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.

If you capture it, listen to this, it will extend your life.

It will extend your life.

It will extend your life because God wants you to finish more.

God wants you to enjoy everything he had for you when he first conceived you out of love in his mind.

It'll extend your life. It'll light up your life.

It'll light up your life. Why?

Because there will be criticisms. You will mess up. You will do things wrong.

But this thing just comes up like a wave and just lifts you up.

And you're surfing again.

Light up your life. It'll extend your life.

It'll give meaning and direction. It'll give meaning and direction.

Guys, you know, the great thing about a God-crafted vision is people don't give you meaning anymore.

You don't have to have a big church or a small church.

You don't have to sing like René or sing like Wayne.

You can just be normal and it gives you meaning.

This is the beauty of a God-crafted vision. Get it, guys.

It gives you meaning. It gives you direction.

It helps you endure through hard times.

It helps you endure through hard times.

Moses, Noah, Joseph, David, Jesus, Paul, Mandela, Martin Luther.

And hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people in China, India, North Korea.

It expresses your personality.

God-given vision will express your personality.

It is crafted for you. It is crafted with your personality in mind.

I'd make a really bad accountant, given my personality.

It'll express your personality.

It'll benefit others and leave a legacy.

It'll benefit others and leave a legacy.

It'll benefit others and leave a legacy.

Too bad we won't be at our funeral.

I mean, you will be there, but you won't be there.

It'll benefit others and it'll leave a legacy.

Here's another one. It'll connect you with Jonathan's.

It'll connect you with Jonathan's.

As in people who will come alongside you and pledge their allegiance and run with you.

Only a brother can run with a brother or a sister with a sister.

It'll connect you to Jonathan's. It'll connect you to Aquila's and Priscilla's.

As in people who will come and work in the very same trade that you're working in.

But your souls are knit together and you learn how to run.

It'll connect you to Elisha's.

As in ones who will continue with the legacy you leave on earth.

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.

And it'll connect you with Cyrus's.

Who are Cyrus's? Cyrus's are people that God raises.

Who become channels of resources through which you can accomplish what God wants.

You don't have the ability, but God raises up a Cyrus or a Nebuchadnezzar.

And these guys who are pagans have the ability to suddenly have their heart touched by God.

And they begin to do for you things that seem impossible.

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.

Because you ran within the tracks that God had set for you.

Because you had a vision and you did not cast away restraint.

But you were constrained within the tracks God set for you.

And you kept running, kept running.

And if you do that, we will make sure that we put on your tombstone saying, he did run the race.

He did finish it.

Otherwise, don't come looking for it.

We'll put stuff like, here lies a good person.

One of the rewards in heaven, I touched on this briefly last time.

Privileges.

What are we talking about? Privileges in heaven.

You get the privilege of taking off your crown and laying it before the king.

Make sure you got enough crowns here to take that.

You get the privilege of laying your crown before him.

You get praise. What kind of praise?

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Not everybody hears that.

And you get positions. What kind of positions?

Responsibilities.

Where you get to discharge things for the king in the life after.

So start envisioning the whole idea of a God-crafted vision.

And know that where you start is in the assurance of the father's love and favor.

Where did Joseph grasp this whole idea of a vision that could fuel him?

He learned it in his father's house.

He learned it in his father's house.

He learned that he had a dad who loved him and gave him a robe of many colors.

Showed his demonstrated delight through that robe and gave him great favor.

That's where all vision starts.

This is not some kind of banker we go to and say, here's my collateral, can I have a vision?

No, this is a father who has dreams for his children.

And so it starts in the father's house where you learn to be loved by the father and walk in his favor.

Guys, if I don't understand how much God loves me and how favored I am, I won't have the guts to dream.

You only dream in a house where you are loved and you know his favor.

Orphans don't, orphans dream, but when orphans dream, they dream wishfully.

They dream of changing their circumstances.

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.

You dream the dreams of a father.

You dream beyond.

You don't dream for yourself, man.

That's the beauty of having the knowledge of a father who loves you.

That's the beauty of having the knowledge of a father who loves you and who favors you.

He learned to dream there. He developed a sense of destiny in his father's house.

It's in the father's house where you're loved that you sense destiny.

Otherwise it's, I got to make something out of my life.

Really? And what if you don't make it? Or what if you don't match up?

And just when you've made it, some other guy who doesn't deserve it does better than you.

And now you've got to start all over again.

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.

That helped him a lot, eh?

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.

And once you get the vision, guys, it is tested. It is tested.

Psalm 105 verse 19 says that the word of the Lord tested Joseph.

Psalms 105:19

As in, his hands were put in shackles, his feet were put in chains, and the word of the Lord tested him.

Vision will be tested. Vision will be tested. It will be tested by time. It will be tested by time.

Make time your ally. It will be tested by time. Every vision in the Bible was tested by time.

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,

you must learn that time does not mean delay.

Time is just tick-tock, tick-tock. It will test you.

It will test.

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.

Time will test it.

Disrepute will test it.

As in, the lack of reputation or a bad reputation because you may have a bad reputation,

Disrepute will test it.

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.

Lack of reputation will test you.

But you don't have a reputation. Either it's ruined or you never had one to begin with.

Hallelujah!

Jesus wasn't a man of much reputation.

Neither was Paul. He was the Bible's most prolific murderer.

Insignificance will test you.

Insignificance will test you.

You are learning in hiddenness.

God is teaching you stuff, but no one's recognizing it.

There are times you sit and listen and you itch to see what God is teaching you.

You sit and listen and you itch to speak, but no one gives you any place to speak.

You want to say things, but there is no room for it.

You're insignificant. Nobody notices you.

Great! For you have just fallen into the Isaiah 52 or 53 verse which says,

He was a man who you wouldn't be given a second look.

He was like a dry shoot that no one would look at.

Insignificance will test your vision.

You see why it is easy to go for targets, goals and projects.

How pathetic it is when we live our lives with targets, goals and projects.

A vision should craft it.

You can't take targets, goals and projects and put them together and say,

Aha! Now I have a vision.

It never comes first. It comes after.

Insignificance will test you.

Insignificance will test you.

Opposition will test you.

If you don't have someone telling you that you are crazy for what you're going to do,

then you're not crazy enough.

When I left to start Acts 29,

certain elders from my past came to me and said,

Hey, why don't you just go try this Acts 29 thing out for three months?

We won't tell anybody.

We'll tell people that you're on a sabbatical.

Try this out. Get it out of your system and come back.

And we'll give you a better salary.

Because they just thought this was something that Jacob just needed to get out of his system.

So why not give him three months? Pay him.

Let him get it out and let him come back and return to normal.

If your vision is not opposed,

something is wrong.

People should find it way beyond you.

And there will be a lack of resources.

Your vision will be tested by your inadequacy.

Your vision will be tested by your inadequacy.

And these things come along with CUP.

And once these things come, usually this is sufficient to break you.

And this is when it is critical to have either those that have run before you

or ones that can hold your arms up during that time.

Because otherwise it's very, very hard to stand under so much pressure.

Seduction and satanic traps will try and sabotage vision.

Seduction and satanic traps will try and sabotage vision.

Seduction, Joseph, Potiphar's wife.

Seduction, David.

And that lady who was taking a bath. What's her name?

There you go.

Seduction and satanic traps will sabotage vision.

The more you step into what God has for you guys,

the more you need to make sure that you don't get caught in seduction.

And it gets easier, right?

It gets easier to sidestep and know trouble before it comes.

Because the Bible says, the prudent sees evil coming.

And he ducks.

And he doesn't say he ducks, it's something like that.

And he what? Hides himself. Yeah.

So, let's conclude.

Here are some simple ways to go about answering May's question.

First, look at your photo album. Look at your photo album.

To figure out vision, here are some simple steps.

One, look at your photo album. As in, look at your past.

The ways and the works of the Holy Spirit that have dotted your life scape.

The ways and the works of the Holy Spirit that have dotted your life scape.

Look at your past.

You'll see God having done certain things over the last 3, 4, 5 years.

He did this here, he did that there.

And as you look at it, you get an idea of who you are.

You get an idea of who you are.

So look at your photo album.

Second, telescope into the future through going over the prophetic spoken over you.

Telescope into the future, telescope into the future through the prophetic spoken over you.

This is the hard work part of it, eh?

Telescope into the future through the prophetic spoken over you.

I know that every time you do that, C-U-P come into play.

Complacency as in, I'll do it tomorrow.

Eh, well, I don't know about this word.

It hasn't come to pass.

It's been 8 months. Really? 8 months takes 9 months to make a baby.

The prophetic takes longer.

Unbelief as in, yep, I know this was spoken, but really I don't think I have the ability to do this now.

Or procrastination.

Yes, this is good, but I've got to get a job first.

Let me just stop on that.

I've got to get a job first because I need to settle things that I need to settle.

And then I can pursue this.

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?

Let me take the story of two brothers.

One brother finished his job and went to the forest.

So we are two brothers.

One brother finished his engineering degree in UBC.

I don't know whether he learned anything, but he did get a degree because I did go for his graduation.

And then he was looking for a job.

And he couldn't find a job.

And he's now beginning to use up his money.

Doesn't want to call his parents and ask for more.

Kept applying.

Finally he did get a job.

But it's in Toronto.

It's a good job. It pays him well.

He's been without a job now for two and a half or three months.

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,

I know that somehow what God has crafted for me is still here.

And so he doesn't take the job up.

Three months become four, four months become five, five months become six.

And he doesn't have a job.

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.

And so he refuses to do it under the table and not through the right means.

So he chooses not to even work like that.

Six months pass.

And then God opens a place for him in Surrey where he gets a job and has tremendous favor on him.

And so then there's a second brother.

Second brother is in the same situation now.

What? You know these brothers?

Ashraf, I thought I was telling you a story that you didn't know.

But the second brother is going to learn from his elder brother and stick with what God has for him.

I'm not saying don't go to Toronto. Actually I am, but I'm not.

But who goes to Toronto?

Pardon? Oh, sorry Jason, I forgot.

Sorry, that wasn't a prophetic word. Feel free to go to Toronto.

Well the point is this guys, that sometimes it is more important to understand the vision of God

before you jump into things that will settle your life.

Because it will settle your life, but it will nail you down.

So once you're nailed down, it's very hard to move.

I just needed to stop on that.

Third thing, look at the house.

Let me use words that are simpler.

Look at the church, all the leader or pastor or mentor or spiritual father you're connected to.

And it will give you an idea of some of your traits.

Look at the church. Guys, let me put it this way.

And we have visitors today, so I don't mean to make this some kind of an exclusive statement.

But if you are comfortable in this church, then it is because this church has certain traits.

And those traits have now become part of your life.

And so one of the ways you find out the vision that God has crafted for you is by figuring out

where am I located in terms of church and how well or how do I connect to the person who is

pastoring the church or to a spiritual father or to a mentor.

Because you will take on the traits of those that you connect to.

If your school, which you attended when you were a kid, influenced you, secular school,

then imagine how much the church that you attend actually influences you.

And it is natural for you to have the traits of the one you're connected to,

of the ones you're connected to. Very natural.

It will give you an idea of where you're heading.

In this church, if you're really connected to this church and to me as a pastor,

it is impossible for you to avoid three things.

One, pioneering. Two, the prophetic. Three, hearing God.

It is impossible for you to come out of this.

If you've attached yourself to this church, you will have the same experience that Saul had

where he was with a company of prophets and the guy, thank God we don't have to do exactly what Saul did.

He stripped himself naked and started prophesying.

But it will happen to you because the house and the person you're connected to

will begin to show in your life. It's impossible not to.

Fourth, look at the grace.

Let me put it this way. Have an idea of your most enjoyed skills,

of your values, of your personality traits, of your preferred roles,

of your compelling interests, of your spiritual gifts and the grace on your life.

Let me say that again. Have an idea of your most enjoyed skills,

your values, your personality traits, your preferred roles,

your compelling interests, your spiritual gifts and the grace on your life.

Sure. Look at... have an idea of your most enjoyed skills.

Have an idea of your most enjoyed skills, your values, your personality traits,

your preferred roles, your preferred roles, your compelling interests,

your spiritual gifts and the grace on your life. Look at that.

And you will surely have an idea of our shucks, Father, so this is how you made me. Ha!

Two more and we're done.

The last one was spiritual gifts and the grace that is in your life.

By grace I mean the fivefold grace of the apostolic, the prophetic,

the teaching, the pastoring and evangelism.

Sometimes some of us have that too. That makes a big difference.

Next, look at the present context you have been in.

Look at the present context you have been placed in.

Look at the present context you have been placed in.

Some of us are retired. Some of us have had sudden financial breakthroughs.

Some of us have been elevated in position. Some of us are pregnant.

Some of us have new callings that are entering our life.

Some of us have had reformations that are not going to happen.

Some of us have new callings that are entering our life.

Some of us have had reformations in the way we think.

Some of us have repented of certain things and have been able to walk well.

Some of us are going from strength to strength.

As you look at your present context and what God is doing,

it gives you a ramp to fly off.

It's almost like God is saying, Hey Sue, so you've retired. I've created time for you. Take off.

Hey Jacob, you seem to enjoy traveling. More nations at your disposal.

Hey Chris, you seem to be reforming in this area of your life. So let's begin this.

Hey Mike, later Mike. And so you keep going.

I had to take that shot at you after all that you did today.

So look at the present context you have been placed in.

And it will give you an idea of the kind of ramp that is being built.

It will give you an idea of the ramp that is being built.

Any questions before I go to the last one? Any questions?

What? No questions? Rhonda?

I thought so. Your face looked like a lot of questions.

Question the questions? Ask one.

It's a difficult one.

It's a difficult one.

I just don't know if it will come up over the next question.

So it's like a vocation that you've been questioning your future goals in heaven as a question within your position.

And there have been people that have spoken to you, spoken in my work, to be able to speak to you.

So I love wounds. I have considered doing further education so that I can become a specialist in that area.

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.

What is the movement on speaking to each other?

We've got to be coming up. That will happen in two forms.

We want to move forward in what we've been saying to here.

I kind of get your question.

Let me answer it this way. Guys, when it comes to God-crafted vision, it may happen in two different ways.

One, God may have called you to head a certain direction.

And while he's asking you to head in that certain direction, there's stuff that you are presently doing.

And so one of two things will happen.

Either these dovetail or God tells you which one to prioritize.

So it follows one after the other.

So either there's a number one and then a number two and a number three, so you know how to prioritize it,

or it all dovetails together where both these God is able to put together.

So you don't have to leave what you're presently doing to head in a certain direction

unless God specifically is telling you to head that way.

You don't have to leave.

So let's assume... I will.

You've got to whisper quieter than that.

So let's assume that Mark and Rhonda are called to do certain things here in Vancouver.

That is the reason they left Quadra.

At the same time, let's assume that Rhonda has this skill that she has with taking care of wounds,

and she wants to pursue it further.

They're not mutually exclusive.

So she can still continue doing that while God helps them to head in the direction that they called you both to Vancouver for.

Mark can still continue doing his construction while Mark and Rhonda still head towards doing what they're meant to do.

Jesus did this continuously.

Paul did this continuously.

He kept building tents while he was doing what he was supposed to do.

Jesus kept taking care of his family and indulging in his carpentry business while he was pursuing.

It just is that at some point, the priorities begin to change.

So this is the hard part, to figure out from God when one has become two and two has become three.

What happens is, this may be how you start today, but six months from now,

this is what I meant by saying you've got to keep climbing up the watchtower and look for God, saying,

Father, has anything changed?

Because six months from now, it could well be that three has become one, and two stays at two and one becomes one.

This is the part that we sometimes forget, that God has reset things over the last six months.

And so you go as he wants you to go.

At one point, he stayed in Capernaum, Judea, Galilee, and those sites.

And then suddenly everything changes. Everything changes.

Peter makes a statement. Peter says, you are Christ, the Son of the living God.

And from that moment on, something changes inside Jesus' head.

And he says, he set his face like flint towards Jerusalem, and he started going towards Jerusalem.

Now nothing would faze him from going on.

Some Greeks came, and they came to Philip and they said, we want to see Jesus.

Guess what Jesus did? Didn't meet with them.

And yet before that, he would hang around a certain area, and then he changes.

So one of the things we've got to learn, and this is critical, that every few months, Father, has anything changed?

Because the way God made us, most of us know how to multitask.

But has anything changed?

Otherwise, guys, life takes over.

And when life takes over, you follow it.

And you try to create things to do that have a semblance of what God called you for.

But isn't the real thing.

Last point.

Remember that God desires, as any father would, that you participate in his mission.

Remember that God desires, as any father would, that you participate in his mission.

So cultivate hearing. That's what I was talking about. Cultivate hearing.

Father, you want me to participate in what you're doing.

So which part of the fence do you want me to paint?

Here I come with my small can of paint and a small brush that he gave me.

While you paint the entire wall, tell me where to paint, and I'll start painting.

I'll start painting. But show me where.

Now, Father, I've finished this bit, so which bit do you want me to do next? This bit or this bit?

Aha! I hear you. I'll start right here, and I'll change my can, because it's not white anymore. It's brown.

And so I start painting it.

Cultivate hearing, and do not despise the day of small beginnings.

Change priorities as he sees fit. As he sees fit.

He's a master weaver. There's nobody who sees things like he sees.

I had a friend called Peter Boss. Some of you have met him.

Peter had this ability to take a piece of canvas, put it in front of the church, and start drawing.

And as he draws, you think it's a scribble.

But that scribble begins to develop into something so stunning.

But he could see it, and I couldn't.

Master weaver, follow, follow, cultivate hearing, and keep going, guys.

Guys, I've given you everything that we need to start this process.

The only enemy you have is CUP.

Yeah?

So, Father, thank you, Holy Spirit. You are brilliant.

Thank you, Holy Spirit. You are brilliant. You are brilliant.

I pray that there be annoying, annoying and an annoying hunger inside us if we have not yet begun this process of grasping

your God-crafted vision for us.

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,

occasionally having our joints dislocated because we are pursuing you for a name change, for a vision change.

I pray that for everybody seated here beginning with me.

I pray that, Father,

and under that overarching canopy of your vision,

help us now be in a function of God, Spirit of God.

I've laid out everything you gave.

Now, please, Spirit of God, would you help us?

Please help us to be humble enough and to be passionate enough to pursue this

so that we don't get defined as procrastinators.

Please, Spirit of God.

In Jesus' name I ask.

Amen.

Thanks for listening, guys.