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As you know we are in the series call DLI (Doing Life Intentionally).  According to God, life is to be thought out (Proverbs 14:8 “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways”) and lived out with purpose, direction, and vision.      

Let me say this before we get started, if you are interested, we can start discussing the different kinds of visions and the different levels of visions, just let me know.  

OK, we pretty much understand living out life with purpose and direction, but what about “vision”, what all does that entail. First let me say there are 2 kinds of visions, manmade and God made. Since we are aware of how our plans seem to work out in comparison to God’s plans (Proverbs 19:21 “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.), I am only going to be talking about “visions” in the God manifested sense.         

In the beginning Visions were not necessary due to the fact that God walked with and talked directly to Adam and Eve in the Garden. Then after sin entered in the world through Cain, God not being able to coexist with Sin in this world began to walk and communicated through others means, sometimes a supernatural image or a person that represented Him, through revelations of creation, and sometimes in “Visions”.     We do need to remember that God’s intention from the very beginning is for man to walk and talk with God on a personal level. So since the time sin separated God from man, God’s plans have always been about getting man back into that personal one on one relationship with Him.  

And so in Joel 2:28 God announces His plans to do just that; “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and the maidservants in those days I will pour out my spirit.” 

Fast forward 600 years  

40 days after His resurrection Jesus says this just before He ascends to heaven in Acts 1:4 “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

Fast forward 10 days

In Acts 2:1 we find “On the day of Pentecost (Pentecost meaning 50, 50 days after the Passover) all the believers were meeting together in one place. ²Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. ³Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. ⁴And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” Then Peter stands up announces the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2:28. In Acts 2:16 Peter says, “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” and then he goes on to quote Joel 2:28. And so with the Manifestation of the Holy Spirit in us, we are back to that one on one, personal relationship with God.  And because God lives in us we can now see revelations and visions of and from God.  

So what all does that have to with us… 

Let’s first look at the purpose for a vision in our lives:

When God draws near to a person by his Spirit through visions, He does so to reveal Himself. He aims to be known as God, not as a psychic phenomenon or some fantasy. When God reveals Himself by vision or whatever means through his Spirit, He stirs up in us not only images of his love , power, mercy, and trustfulness, but will also stir up in us a  response of worship spiritually and actions physically (James: “Faith without works is dead”)   Next, let’s look at how a vision comes into being within us:

The best and simple description of how a “Vision” comes to be is found in a book by Andy Stanley titled “Visioneering”. Which says this…“Visions are born in the soul of a man or a woman who is consumed with tension between what is and what could be.”  Anyone who is frustrated, brokenhearted, or even angry (Bill Hybel calls this “Holy Discontent”) about the way things are all the while knowing how things could be better is a candidate for a vision. Visions come from the heart of people that are fed up with status quo.     

What should be the results of a vision?

Visions from God will always stand in contrast to the wrong in the world.  

Visions from God will always carry with it a sense of conviction.  

Vision (over time) will give a clear mental picture of what could be done if God is in the center.  

Vision always demands change.   

Are you consumed with the idea that your life could be better? That your relationship with God, with people, with your health, with your work place, even with your finances, is not what they could be?Are you consumed with an idea that people should treat other people better?Are you consumed with the idea that there is no way people should be starving in a world with so much wealth everywhere?   God is revealing Himself to you and things He wants to change through “visions”.  

Pastor Larry   

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