IT IS LACK OF VISION THAT MAKES A YOUNG LADY TO CARRY HER BAG AND STAND AT THE JUNCTION WAITING FOR MEN
I STEPPED INTO MARRIAGE WITH A VISION THAT MY WIFE WILL NEVER SEE WHAT MY MOTHER SAW AS A WIFE
IT IS EASY FOR A MAN OR A WOMAN WITHOUT VISION TO BE PRONE TO THE darkness OF evil ACTIVITY
THE ABSENCE OF VISION IS THE ABUNDANCE OF IDLENESS AND THE ABUNDANCE OF IDLENESS IS THE POSSIBILITY OF GODLESSNESS
A WISE MAN SAID “THE devil TEMPTS EVERYBODY BUT THE IDLE MAN TEMPTS THE devil”
VISION TURNS A PERSON INTO A ROLE MODEL AND A PACESETTER
WHEN IT COMES TO LIFE, BE A HORSE, NOT A COW.
THE HORSE STANDS UP WITH HIS FRONT LEG FIRST BECAUSE IT IS FOWARD MINDED
THE COW STANDS UP WITH HIS BACK LEG FIRST BECAUSE IT IS BACKWARD MINDED.
CHARGE AT LIFE!!
TIME WITHOUT MEANING OR VALUE IS THE OUTCOME OF LIFE WITHOUT VISION
DO NOT BEHAVE AT YOUR LEVEL, BEHAVE AT YOUR VISION
DAVID DID NOT BEHAVE AS A BOY AT 17, HE BEHAVED AS A LEADER OF A NATION
DON’T EVER BEHAVE FOR WHERE YOU ARE, BEHAVE FOR WHERE YOU WANT TO REACH.
PASTORS, YOUR SPIRITUAL CAPACITY BEGINS TO ENLARGE WHEN YOU BEGIN TO THINK IN TERMS OF PASTORING YOUR GENERATION AND NOT JUST A FEW MEMBERS OF A CONGREGATION
IF YOU GIVE 10,000 MEMBERS TO A PASTOR WHO HAS THE CAPACITY TO PASTOR 500 PEOPLE, HE WILL SCATTER THE PEOPLE WITH THIS PREACHING UNTIL THEY DROP FROM 10,000 TO 500 TO MEET HIM AT HIS LEVEL
VISION SERVICES YOUR CHARACTER AND CAPACITY TO BECOME WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO BECOME and WHAT YOU’RE EXPECTING TO BECOME
- Dr. Pastor Paul Enenche on “THE NECESSITY AND PROFIT OF VISION – Part 2” || Power Communion Service/Glory is Risen Fast Day 10 || Glory Dome, Abuja.
Father, we give you the praise tonight, we appreciate you. Thank you for the privilege of knowing you, the privilege of relationship. Church Gist. Father, breathe upon this service tonight, let not one person leave here the same way. We praise you, we honour you, we adore you, be thou glorified, in Jesus’ precious name.
Habakkuk 2:2-3. The Lord bless His Word in Jesus’ precious name.
The Necessity and Profit of Vision – part 2. The second part of what we dealt with last week. Habakkuk 2:2-3. Church Gist. We began this subject last week to understand why vision is necessary and profitable. Why is it necessary, profitable and valuable to live with vision? We saw last week first that vision gives beauty to life, life is beautiful with vision. Secondly, we saw that vision gives meaning to life, life is meaningful with vision. Thirdly, we saw that vision gives drive to life, people of vision are highly driven. Fourthly, we saw that vision brings order and discipline to life; where there’s no vision, there’s a lot of indiscipline. Church Gist. Fifthly, we saw that vision brings focus to lift, that means, deliverance from distractions. We saw all those five last week. We will look at five more if time permits in this second part.
- Vision brings life out of darkness. Matthew 6:22-23. A person’s life is literally engulfed in the darkness of confusion, directionlessness and uncertainty where there is no vision. Church Gist. For lack of vision, for lack of sight, the blind man is absolutely and practically immersed in darkness. That is what happens to a man without vision. To avoid existence in darkness, avoid existence as a victim of confusion and uncertainty, vision is mandatory. There’s another dimension of darkness that I want you to understand. Darkness also implies evil activity, so it is easy for a man or a woman without vision to be prone to the darkness of evil activity. Church Gist. Why do I say so? The absence of vision is the abundance of idleness and the abundance of idleness is the possibility of Godlessness. It is said in vernacular that the idle man is the devil’s workshop. Then, I heard a wise man say, “the devil tempts everybody but the idle man tempts the devil”. That is, “satan, here am I, don’t you have work to give me?” Without vision for her life, the young girl carries a bag and stands by the junction looking for a man. Church Gist. Whether that man is a ritualist or a killer, she doesn’t care, no vision for her life. So, she becomes an instrument of evil activity. Church Gist. Without a vision for the future, the young man got recruited into armed robbery or became connected to people who will show him the destructive way of ritual money. Vision is what brings a life out of darkness; the darkness of confusion, directionlessness and evil activity.
- Vision causes a life to become and illumination. It turns a life into an illumination. “When your eye is single, your body is full of light” – Matthew 6:22b. What is the meaning of that? Vision lightens up a person’s life. Vision makes a person to be a light carrier, a light bearer. Vision turns a person into a generational illuminator, a light bearer, a light carrier, a road pointer, a direction giver, a direction provider. Church Gist. Vision turns a person into a role model, a pacesetter. What is the meaning of that? When you’re a man or a woman of vision, people look at your life and get inspiration, they look at your life and acquire motivation, they look at your life, they gain direction, they look at your and regain their focus. Church Gist. That is, you’re lighting your generation. When a man or a woman has no vision, there’s nothing anybody has to learn from you. You’re not taking steps or making moves that are worthy to be followed.
When we look at notable role models in our generation, in various fields, it happened by vision. I stepped into marriage with a vision. Church Gist. The vision is, what I saw as a child, my children will never see. What my mum saw as a wife, my wife will never see and my marriage shall be the visible representation of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Church Gist. It was on our wedding card, the vision was written at the back of our wedding card. As Christ loved the Church, that is my role. As the Church is subject to Christ in all things, that is the role of my wife and by the mercies of God, we are on the journey. Whatever we see around us never happens by chance. Church Gist. Children growing in the atmosphere of pure love. When our children were growing up, if they happened to quarrel with each other or exchange words, one question would silence them; “where did you learn it from? Where did you see quarrel? Why are you trying to practice what you never saw?” The end. Am I communicating? Church Gist. Vision, in any realm of life, it makes your life become an inspiration, it makes your life become an illumination.
I was speaking to a girl the other day who wishes that if marriage is what her father and mother has, she doesn’t want to marry. Church Gist. I said to her, “If your father and your mother couldn’t give you motivation or inspiration, what of your spiritual father and spiritual mother?” Then she had no reply. Church Gist. I said, “yes, look in that direction for that particular aspect of motivation and inspiration”. Hallelujah. That started and came to be by vision.
- Vision births optimism, enthusiasm and positivism. Job 14:14. People of vision are optimistic people, people of vision are enthusiastic people, people of vision possess a positive attitude to life, they are a possivistic people. People of vision, they see the glass half full instead of half empty. When the water is midway in a glass of water, different people see it differently. People of vision see that ‘this glass is half full’ which means that it will soon be full. People without vision will say, ‘this glass is half empty’ which means it will soon be empty, they see the negative side of things.
People with vision see the light at the end of the tunnel. They see that they may not be there yet, but they are getting there. What they are trusting God for may not have happened but they know it will happen.
People of vision charge at life. They charge at life, the way the horse charges at life not like the cow. Church Gist. I told you before when the cow and the horse are lying down and you come to get them to stand up, the cow stands up with the back leg first. It is backward minded. That’s why the cow cannot run any race. The horse stands up with the front leg first. It is forward minded and ready to charge!
People of vision, they charge at life like the horse not like the cow. I heard a story of Smith Wigglesworth, that when he wakes up in the morning, he doesn’t roll off the bed gradually. He rolls and jumps off and stands on his feet, begins to blast in tongues and then gets set for the day. He rose up almost 23 dead people, he wasn’t a normal…he just turns in the bed and just jumps on his feet, lands ‘tonguing’, praising, that his day has started.
That is Today, I am ready for you!
The absence of vision is the abundance of negativism. When you see a man that is very ‘negative-is tic’, the absence of vision is the abundance of pessimism, uncertainty. Church Gist. Where somebody is always pessimistic: ‘Are you sure it will happen?’
I don’t have time for such people at all. Infact the absence of vision can bring about the abundance of depression. That is why, you need a vision.
People with strong functional vision, they are positive, optimistic, they are enthusiastic and they are excited about life.
How many of you remember Joseph had a vision and that vision took him to the palace, but before he reached the palace, he was in the prison. But while he was in the prison, excitement was up, enthusiasm was up. Positivism was up! Genesis 40:6-9.
That was a prisoner that was charging other prisoners up with joy.
I prophesy to someone here today, every trace of depression, every trace of negativism, every trace of pessimism around your life, I declare them arrested now in the name of Jesus!
- Vision brings speed to life.
Habakuk 2:2. Vision produces action and motion and acceleration. People of vision they have action, acceleration and motion. Vision makes runners of people. Church Gist. The reason why people don’t do anything is because they don’t know what to do.
Many years ago, I was preaching about Pastors working and when they ask you what work do you do, you say, “I’m not working I’m a Pastor.”
Many years ago! And they can only say they’re not working because they are actually not working! Because it is not possible for you to say you’re not working if you are working. Even my bed is aware of my work. The bed I’m sleeping on is aware of work. Everywhere you turn, work! So, I said “Pastor, work!” And a Pastor said, “What work do I do?” What is the work of a pastor? He labours in the Word, he labours in doctrine, all multi- dimensional labour! Thank God I was a doctor before! More than doctors work! More than soldiers work! If you really have to do it well.
There are days you sit up in the morning and you sleep by 6am. That’s is if you are doing the real work. Many people don’t do anything because they don’t know what to do. Church Gist. And if you don’t know what to do, you can’t leave where you are. You leave where you are because you know what to do.
Listen to me: Vision imparts unto people a sense of urgency. You live as if you are in a hurry, when there is vision you are running. Vision makes people to be impatient where there is no desired outcome. You are impatient! It is a positive impatience. Vision makes you impatient with low outcome. Especially when the vision is time-sensitive. Something like by the end of January, I trust God to see this level of result in this area. By the end of March, I am expecting this. And by the end of the first quarter, I am expecting this. And now the end of the first quarter is approaching and what you are expecting by vision is not yet happening, it puts you under pressure.
When the vision is open ended, it doesn’t achieve anything much. That is, “What is your vision?” “I want to be spiritual”
It doesn’t achieve much. But everyday I must pray for so and so number of hours, everyday I must win so and so number of souls per week. I must trust God to conquer so and so amount of resources, so and so amount of sales and it is time sensitive and scheduled. At this time, I expect this to happen, at that time I expect that to happen, then you are a runner. It is impossible to walk. That is the mystery behind the race some of us run in life.
Vision, real vision will destroy 4 things in your life:
- Delay
- Indecision
- Procrastination
- Stagnation.
Real vision will destroy them. It will destroy the spell of delay. Church Gist. Delay to move, delay to act. It will destroy indecision, it will destroy procrastination and it will destroy stagnation.
Indecision means I am not sure. Procrastination means I am sure but let me wait a bit. It destroys stagnation.
In the name of Jesus, I refuse to be the victim of delay, I refuse to be the victim of indecision. I refuse to be the victim of stagnation, I refuse to be the victim of procrastination in the name of Jesus!
Time without meaning or value is the outcome of life without vision. When a man or woman lives life without vision, it is time without meaning. Time without value, time is just going, no meaning to time and no value. That will never be your portion.
- Finally tonight, vision brings transformation in 2 directions. Vision brings transformation to character and transformation to capacity. Vision changes something inside the visioneer. Genesis 30:27.
Jacob made the animals of Laban to look at something. And as they looked at what Jacob painted on the wall, a change began to happen in their genetic system and they began to give birth contrary to their physical appearance.
Black and white cow giving birth to brownish and something something. Just whatever they saw and for as long as they saw that something on their inside was changed to produce what they saw.
Let me give you an example. A 17 year old boy suddenly develops the vision of being a generational leader. The vision of becoming the best of influence, either a professor, a vice-chancellor, the head of a financial institution, the head of a sector of a nation and he began to think about that at the age of 17. Church Gist. Suddenly you see this young boy dressing as if he were a president. At that 17 years of age, he is with his suit and a tie and he’s just moving with an audacious calculated steps of an accomplished person. He is beginning to deal with people above his age. He sits among elders, he asks questions because a vision is driving him. When you look at him, he reasons above his age, he talks above his age, a vision is changing his character and capacity.
At the same time, his 17 year old mates that have no such vision are wearing funny hairstyles. The center is green, the side is blue. Twisted like a mad man, he has earrings in his ear as a man. And he has trousers that are sagging and he’s just moving up and down. You see the two guys and you look at this one. And he tells this one, I am your age mate but I don’t belong to your age. I belong to an age above you even though we have the same date of birth, I don’t function in your level.
I was like that as a seventeen year old boy. I was like that as an eighteen year old boy. Smart tie, smart shoes, I counseled married people, i wasn’t married yet. I told them how to live but by God’s mercy when I spoke among elders, as if I was their age mate. By His mercies! I give proverbs that they need to unravel. Most of the proverbs I give here, it didn’t come from anywhere, it is created. It’s natural, it’s original, not heard from anybody.
That is how vision changes your capacity. And by this illustration, I have just spoken to somebody.
You can be 17 years old, without belonging to that age and you can be 55 years old but like a 15 year old child. There are men who are 18 and there are boys who are 81. I’ve seen boys, I’ve seen boys!
I spoke with a man on phone, the man was almost 70 years old and this man was talking like a baby. Church Gist. That’s someone I should be saying Yes sir to. He was talking like a baby. I said I’m so sorry sir, I thought you were a man. I didn’t know you are a baby. If you heard him, you would also confirm it- a baby.
In case you say I was disrespectful, I said Sir first. And true to type, that man kept on making disastrous moves, babyhood moves, babyhood steps. Church Gist. Please grow up, grow up, grow up!
David did not behave like a 17 year old boy, he behaved like a leader of a nation at age 17. Young lady don’t behave like a street girl, behave like a royal queen of England. Behave in that class. There is a way those people don’t look. There is a way they can’t afford to appear. They’re too royal to appear common.
How you behave affects what you can become. It’s a prophecy of where you are going. You are just prophesying your future. For as much as you would never see the President of a country with his trousers hanging down. And you will never see the head of a big corporation with his body exposed unnecessarily. For as long as you will never see such, when you behave like that, hanging trousers and all manner: I belong to the street level, I don’t belong there and I accept to remain here. Don’t ever behave for where you are, behave for where you are going.
Don’t ever behave for where you are, behave for where you are going, where you want to reach.
My wife says to me everytime I got a sharp suit, sharp shoe, I always wear it the same day. I don’t have Christmas dress and I stand out and I just try to look as best as possible. One day earlier on, she said to me, Why do you try to look like that? And I said to her, Maybe I will meet the president of somewhere and I don’t want to regret that if I had known, I would have dressed better. Church Gist. She’s nodding her head, one day we went out and she just went casually and I just went as usual in a diplomatic way. And I think we met some people, I don’t know what happened and she said, Okay, I have learnt. If I knew I would have behaved the way you behaved. Church Gist. To be ready for every urgency. I want to step on any stage, if they say carry the microphone, I won’t wish I had dressed well. I want to be ready for any urgency.
Smith Wigglesworth said, Don’t get ready, live ready. Apply what I am saying to every area of your life. When David appeared on that battlefield, he didn’t get ready, he lived ready. “What can be done for the man that taketh down this Philistine, I am ready for him.”
- somebody say a loud Amen.
My wife steps into my study room and sees the whole place filled with aromatic fragrance, says, “where are you going tonight that you still sprayed perfume. I can perceive the fragrance of perfume everywhere. Are you going out somewhere?” I say, “no oh, this is for normal sitting”. Church Gist. (To his wife), you have seen very interesting things oh. Hallelujah.
It affects character, it affects capacity. If you’re not thinking that, “all I’m trusting God for is to have a car, have a house and have travel visa”, if that is what you’re thinking about, then there’s a way your mind works. Church Gist. But if you’re thinking like the head of a multinational that budgets in billions of dollars or naira, there’s a way your mind begins to get upgraded, there’s a way you begin to work and research, there’s a way you begin to enlarge capacity and something inside you begins to enlarge to be able such that when you see $1million, you don’t run mad. You’re equal to the task because you have developed to that level. Church Gist. Pastor of Church, there’s a way in which your spiritual capacity begins to enlarge when you begin to think in terms of pastoring your generation, not just pastoring a few members of a congregation. Am I communicating? There is a capacity enlargement, there’s something it does to you because capacity determines possibility. Church Gist. If you give a man one billion naira who only has the capacity of managing one million naira, that man will spend that one billion until it will remain one million in his hands, he won’t know what to do with it. If he’s in the village, he will begin to marry more wives. Church Gist. But if you give a man one million naira, who has the capacity, he has an enlarged vision and capacity to manage a billion, that one million will grow until it becomes a billion in his hand because his capacity is enlarged by his vision. You give a Pastor who has the capacity to pastor 500 people, 10,000 members, he will scatter the people with this preaching, with his life, with his everything until people drop from 10,000 to 500 to meet him at his level because that is the level he can handle. Church Gist. Meanwhile, you gave 500 members to somebody whose capacity is 10,000, he will grow that capacity until it reaches the 10,000 because his capacity has been enlarged to accommodate that.
Hear me, when we were in area one and the sanctuary was just filled and I began to think of overflow, many things began to come to my mind on the spot. “We are going to have a lot of cars. Alright, so if they are going to come, where’s the road for them to come? If they’re going to come, are there enough toilet facilities? Alright, what about children facility because they will come with their children”. Church Gist. Everything began to just explode on the spot, the though or this and that, “if I’m going to reach there, if I’m going to accommodate so and so people”, it began to explode on the spot. If your thought was small, those things won’t come up. That’s the essence of vision, all of a sudden, your character is adjusting to match with the vision, your capacity is enlarging, your thought pattern is enlarging, your mentality is enlarging, everything is enlarging to ensure that you’re able to accommodate that vision when it arrives and you’re not taken by surprise and your life does not collapse because you got a vision.
- somebody say a loud Amen.
You must ensure that your vision brings you out of darkness, turns your life into an illumination, cause you to have optimism, enthusiasm and positivism, bring speed to your life, no more delay, no more indecision, procrastination and stagnation and then your character and your capacity begin to change. So this is how to behave, “what do I want to become?” Behave accordingly, don’t wait until you become it, behave it now. Church Gist. To become it, you must behave it. Am I communicating? Then, your capacity begins to enlarge. “If I’m looking forward to having 500 to a thousand employees, how do I prepare for it? How am I qualified for it?” It might make you to take some courses, do some trainings that prepares you for what you’re expecting. That is what vision does to you because you don’t service a car that is not functional. Church Gist. Vision services your character and capacity to become what God wants you to become and to become what you’re expecting to become.
- lift up your hands and your voices and appreciate God for what you have received tonight.
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