Vision For New Height | Rev Dr Taiye Adeola

TEXT: Habakkuk 2:1-3; Proverbs 29:18
Last Sunday the Lord instructed us on “How to Hear and Follow God’s Voice” being the theme for the Men Missionary Union Emphasis Sunday. In discussion one of the pathways engaged by God to speak to us we mentioned revelation and we said this covers audible voice, vision trance, and dreams.

Today, we shall commence a discussion on vision as a necessary instrument for the new height. One of the things that will either enhance or limit your new height is the vision that you have and run with. Until the vision is born, your life, your destiny is boring. This is because there will be nothing around which your life will revolve. Vision is a life regulator, vision is a destiny shaper, vision is a propeller, vision is a driving force.

A man without a vision will always make blind leaps that are not directed or targeted. A person without vision is not focused; he or she will live by guess. Without vision there is no satisfaction, visionlessness is powerlessness but a man with a clear vision becomes unstoppable. The devil loses grip over such a life. Why? He\she is armed with the weapon of vision.
Vision is imparted not imitated. When your life is impacted by or with vision, you are Gods original and not a counterfeit, you are not fake, you are real. Vision gives purpose and meaning to a man’s existence. Lets us attempt a definition of the word vision from the scriptures. Another word for vision in the scripture is a revelation (NIV).

The Goodnews calls it God’s guidance. God is central in vision, he reveals his own mind and guide and directs his own in both spiritual and physical matters
Somebody defines vision this way and I want us to look at it. He says, “Vision is Foresight based on Insight with the benefit of Hindsight”. This definition captures the past, present and future. The bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. This nature of God is packaged in a vision. God relates to you within the context of who you are, considering where you are coming from or who you were revealing to you where he is taking you.

FORESIGHT-LOOKING AHEAD
INSIGHT-LOOKING INSIDE
HINDSIGHT- CONSIDERING THE PAST.

Vision can be likened to sight –the ability to see. Your sight determines a lot of things about you -recognition, association, movement, speed, achievements, etc. Vision is synonymous with light, it reveals, brings growth-photosynthesis, helps to find direction, Illuminates\ dispels darkness and your speed is determined by the volume of light.

Vision can also be compared to a seed in the following way:
Reproduce after its kind
Look small at the beginning but grows
Undergoes a period of incubation
Draws from the environment to thrive
Outlives the visional

WHAT TO DO WITH VISION – Habakkuk. 2:2

(1) WRITE THE VISION: Writing the vision guarantees its transmission when God speaks to you or gives you insight about a thing, it is wise to write it down. When you write it down you won’t forget. Some of us trust our brain so much that we think we cannot forget things until we forget something before we realize that it is possible to forget but by that time it is already late. When you write down a vision you will be able to retain what is given to you and also be able to refer to it. Many of us have thrown away valuable instructions or mandate given to us by God because we did not write them down when God gives them to us,
You should develop the habit of writing things down in church as you listen to the message, in your quiet time as you commune with God. In the case of Habakuk, God told him to write down the vision so that he will not forget.

(2) MAKE THE VISION PLAIN: This means communicating your vision put it down in such a way that you get to understand it as well as those who will get to read or hear about the vision. Habakkuk was to write his own vision on tables for people to read and run with it. No matter how coded the vision seems it must be decoded for others to understand share your vision so that it will not die with you. Some people are afraid of sharing their vision because they think it can be stolen or truncated. If it is from God, no one can stop it. It may be delayed but it will come to pass, remember Joseph. If somebody steals a vision that you share don’t worry he or she cannot master it and execute it the way the original visional will do. So don’t be afraid to communicate or share your vision.

When you share your vision:
1. People will know how to help you
2. Its publicity is guaranteed – people will talk about it
3. Opposition becomes manifested so you know how to pray more.

(3) SELL YOUR VISION TO PEOPLE: The purpose of sharing or communicating your vision is to sell it to people so that they will try it and the vision will be realized. This cuts across both the spiritual and physical dimensions of our lives. What if it is a personal vision? You still need people for its execution. In selling your vision you must be sincere, be honest do not share or try to sell to people what God has not said, do not exaggerate and do not downplay.

You must also know that not everyone will buy your vision. In fact, your vision will put some people off; some will hate you for it while some will try to stop you. But some will definitely buy the vision, run with it and cooperate with you in pursuing it. In selling your vision even though you will be honest and sincere you must know how to package it especially if it is a divine revelation about some physical thing such as a business idea. For example, sales of a product, If you don’t package it well, people will not appreciate it so it will not sell, people will not buy a bad product.
In selling your vision, you must also be consistent. Don’t give up easily just because people do not understand or go along with you immediately. Some people change strategies and methods too often such that while people are just settling down to understand and go along with what you sold to them previously, you come with something new, so they start to study and appreciate the new thing afresh, by the time they come to grasp that, you change again. Consistency is important. Don’t give up on how you sell your vision unless by divine instruction you get to know that it is not working.

Many people get confused to think that God did not speak after all because the method they employed in conveying what God told them is wrong or did not work. In selling your vision, it must be to the people for which it is meant so you must know what God is saying about the people to whom you should sell your vision. Not all visions are for all people just as not all products are for all people. There are products that no matter how you package them no matter what beauty they possess, they will not appeal to some people, yet the same product will be sought after by other people who will want to have them by all means.

It is the same thing with vision, no matter how hard you try, some people will just not buy your vision, maybe it is not meant for them, maybe they just refuse to buy, maybe it does not appeal to them etc, but there are people that are meant to go along with you as soon as you sell your vision.

(4) BE PATIENT WITH THE VISION – Hebrews.10:35-38
Every vision has a time of incubation; patience is required in the process of sharing and selling the vision. The vision is for an appointed time. It will not come to pass until its appointed time. We must learn to move at the pace of God. That God tells you something or shows you something now does not mean it will happen now. It takes patience to see a vision grow like a seed you may kill your vision if you are too much in a haste.

As a young man, God can give you a vision for greatness, but please allow the timing of that vision, some of us try to force a time frame on a vision rather than allow the fullness of the time of that vision. That place that God is taking you; you will get there, but don’t rush so that you will not stumble. Fix yourself into God’s program, don’t try and force God into yours. You can’t force him that is why it brings trouble when we don’t learn patience.

As I round-up for today, the vision that you have for new heights will define whether or not you will get there. If you do not see anything you will not pursue anything and if you are not pursuing anything there will be no heights to attain, Vision is given so that it will be made known write it down so you will not forget, share it, sell it and be patient.