THE NEED FOR VISION

MEMORY VERSE: Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 10-12

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” The reason why some do terrible things is because they have no vision. Why will a (single young) woman send her naked pictures to a man in the name of love? First of all, she needs Jesus in her life. Secondly, she lacks vision. What if the relationship turns sour and the man dumps her for another woman? Or, what if she becomes a respectable woman in the society and the man starts blackmailing her with the pictures? Why will a man tattoo a woman’s name on his body all in the name of love? Firstly, God categorically speaks against tattoos and body piercing (Leviticus19:28). I am always in shock when i see so-called prophet and prophetess flaunting their tattoos and body arts. That aside, what if the lady dumps him for another man? I think it is high time we intensify our prayers for the youths because some of them do things without thinking. Why on God’s green earth will a lady lend her school fees – money her parents suffered to get - to another man because she is in a relationship with him? Apart from the fact that she is a wicked child, she is unserious. A brother once said, “i will die if i don’t marry that girl.” Brother, you are unserious! You are naive. Why end your precious life because someone does not want to be with you? I see you don’t study your bible regularly and you don’t have a vision. That’s why you are coming up with such jargons!

When i see young boys joining gangs and the occult, i know they don’t have vision. When i see people hopping from one party to another, i wonder if they have vision. Or, when i see people going from one relationship to another, i know they don’t know what they want. As a sister, you don’t have to give your contact details to every man who asks for it. As a brother, you don’t have to give your time to everyone who demands for it. Time is one resource you don’t have much of so don’t squander it in the name of being humble. When i hear of couples who fight daily, i know they don’t have vision. Or when i meet couples who have different visions ( the husband is going towards the north and the wife is heading southwards), i know they won’t go far because they have not married their vision. The bible says, “Can two walk together, except they be agree?” (Amos 3:3).

A lot of us put effort into our appearance which is good. We buy expensive suits, shoes, bags, perfumes, etc, which are not bad if you have the means but we don’t invest in our mind. You may dress nice but without a good character you are going nowhere. Expensive perfume cannot make up for bad character. When i see young men running after women because of their looks, i feel sorry for them because they don’t know what they are doing. Don’t marry a lady because of how she looks today or because of her figure. That beauty and figure you are looking at will fade away, either when she gives birth or when she grows old. A man or woman with vision marries for the future. That brother or sister may be able to bear burdens with you today, but will they be able to bear burdens with you in the next 30 years?

QUESTION: What is your vision for marriage? What is your vision for your life? What informs your decisions?

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

AND WE SHALL SEE WHAT WILL BECOME OF HIS DREAMS

MEMORY VERSE: come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams, Genesis 37: 20 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Sam 15, 2 Cor 8, Ezek 22, Ps 3-4 

BACKGROUND: In Genesis 37:5 – 8 Joseph had a dream; he saw himself and his brothers binding sheaves in the field. All of a sudden his brother’s sheaves began to bow to his own sheaf. When he woke up, he told this dream to his brothers and the bible records that they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. He had another dream, this time around the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. When he woke again he told the dream to his family as usual and the brothers decided that enough was enough. One day his father sent him to his brothers, when they saw him afar off they conspired to throw him into a pit so that he might perish with his dreams. 

From studying the story of Joseph, the Holy Spirit helped me to understand that the brothers of Joseph were not after his coat of many colors. The coat of many colors simply represented God’s favor and blessing. The enemy cared less about his coat of many colors; one thing they were after was his dreams. Friends I want you to understand that the enemy is not concerned about your bank balances, booming business , growing ministry , well paid job, nice car , lovely house , academic qualifications ,  caring wife , obedient children , growing ministry ,etc. One thing the enemy is after is your dreams. The enemy understands that a fellow without vision or dream is as good as dead. The enemy will not waste his resources on such. Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people perish. The enemy knows that the key to realizing your potential in Jesus is through dreams and vision, and he does not want that. 

Have you been wondering why ever since you gave your life to Christ, the enemy has been waging war against you? The reason for all these is because of your dream to make it to heaven and reign with Christ forever. There are few things you need to know. Those mighty dreams the Lord has shown you are not for all ears so you need to watch who you share them with. Joseph made the mistake of discussing God’s plan for his life with his brothers and that almost cost him his life. Do not boast with God’s plan for your life. Every dream you have had, every great prophecies you have received are just your potential in Christ. You have a role to play in bringing them to reality. The fact that God has promised to do something mighty in your life does not mean you should rest on your oars. Lastly there are two people responsible for the fulfillment of your dreams, you and God. God is ready to play His part but you must be ready to play your part. Playing your part includes working hard and running away from sin. 

POINT: Your dream and visions makes you a terror to the enemy.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

THE NEED FOR VISION PT2

MEMORY VERSE: where there is no vision, the people perish, Proverbs 29:18a 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Sam 14, Rom 12, Jer 51, Luke 19

BIBLE STUDY: 2 Kings 6:15-18

For the last two days we have been discussing around the subject of vision. The reason for this is that there is someone the Lord wants to open his or her eyes. Proverbs 29:18a says where there is no vision, the people perish. We have defined the word vision as seeing things through the eyes of God or seeing things as God sees them. According to John 4:24, God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. Seeing things through the eyes of God simply means seeing things through the eyes of the spirit. There are many of us who see physically – we can see cars moving around, houses, people e.t.c but spiritually we are blind as a bat. When we talk of been able to see spiritually, we are talking of the ability to see things as they are not as they appear in the physical realm.

The servant of Elisha woke up early to run errands for his master, on his way he saw that the city had been surrounded by horses and chariots so he ran back home to inform his master. When he told Elisha what he saw, that one just laughed and prayed that God should open his eyes. The Lord opened the eyes of this servant and he saw that the surrounding mountains were full of horses and chariots of fire.

There are one or two lessons to learn for this passage. Firstly when a fellow cannot see, instead of progressing he may start to regress; instead of moving forward, he may start to go backwards; instead of reaching his destination, he may return to where he started from. The servant of Elisha was going somewhere, immediately he saw the chariots he ran back home. If his spiritual eyes were functioning as it should function, he would have continued his journey. Secondly when a fellow cannot see spiritually, he may become confused. The first thing the servant of Elisha said to Elisha when he returned home was Alas, my master! How shall we do (2 Kings 6:15)? This statement reveals confusion. Confusion comes when we cannot see. Lack of vision can lead to indecision – indecision is birth by confusion. When a student cannot see, he will be confused when it comes to the choice of a career. Thirdly when a fellow cannot see spiritually, he may start running when no one is chasing him. The army came for Elisha not the servant but because he was blind spiritually he began to run. The shocking thing was the armies did not even say a word to him. 

TO PONDER: Vision aids decision.

THE LACK OF VISION PT1

MEMORY VERSE: where there is no vision, the people perish, Proverbs 29:18a 

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Sam 12, Rom 10, Jer 49, Luke 17

 

BIBLE STUDY: Genesis 21:17-19

 

What is vision?  Vision is seeing things as God sees them or seeing things through the eyes of God. Hagar was stranded, perplexed, exhausted, confused, perturbed and disturbed because of her lack of vision. She was sitting by well yet she was thirsty and her son also. It wasn’t because she was blind; it was because of her lack of vision. From our bible study we observed that the solution to the problem of Hagar was right beside her but yet she suffered. Until the Lord opened her eyes to see the well , she sat by it crying. The solution to the problem of many is right beside them. All some of us need is make a telephone call and that challenge will be over. A man of God had been looking to buy a church building for several years. The number of the agent to call was stored on his mobile but he never called the agent. One day while eating he heard the voice of God saying make the call and his eyes opened. He remembered a fellow pastor colleague gave him an agent’s number; he stopped what he was doing and made the call. Around six weeks later they were worshiping in their own auditorium.

 

Water represents life. How unfortunate for Hagar, she was sitting by a well of life yet she had no life – she and her son were about to die of thirst. The husband and wife of some singles are in the same church they have been attending for years, but because they cannot see they keep going from singles gathering to another. I pray that if you are in that shoe the Lord will open your eyes in Jesus name, Amen.

 

There are several lessons to learn from our bible study. Firstly when a fellow has no vision or is spiritually blind, he suffers unnecessarily. Hagar shouldn’t have experienced thirst in the first place because right beside her was a well. This woman cried and cried because she could not see the well. If care is not taken the people around a fellow who has no vision or who is spiritually blind i.e. his family and those that depend on him may suffer. If the husband is suffering, it will affect the wife and the children. Ishmael was thirsty because her mother could not see. Secondly, Hagar was originally on a journey but had to cancel it when Ishmael began to cry for water. The time she should have used to cover some of distance was spent crying by the well. If one is not careful, the lack of vision can cause a fellow to remain at the same position for a while. If Hagar had seen the well in time, she would have drawn water out of it and continued her journey but because she could not she had to remain at the same position of a while.

 

PRAYER POINT: Father please open my eyes today.

Bro Samuel - Reaching the world for Jesus

THE NEED FOR VISION

MEMORY VERSE: where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he, Proverbs 29:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 11, Ps 95-96, Isa 39, Rev 9

The first question is what is vision? Vision is simply seeing things as God sees them or seeing things through the eyes of God. Hebrew 4:13 says neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do or whom we must give a word of explanation. Psalm 139:4 says for there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether in other words before is word in on my tongue, He knows all about it. Nothing is hidden before God, when you see things as God sees them nothing will be hidden from you.

Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

The bible says ‘where there is no vision’, this could be anywhere. It could be the church, an organization, a government parastatals, a community, a family, a nation just name it. Anywhere in the world and I repeat anywhere in the whole world where people do not see things the way God sees them, death (financial, spiritual, material, physical, mental) is inevitable. How does God see divorce? Malachi 2:16 says for the Lord, the God of Israel ,saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts; therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. 1 Corinthians 7:10 says and unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, let not the wife depart from her husband. God hates divorce.

A man without a vision is a man without a future. How does an ordinary man become extraordinary? Vision. How did a young slave boy in Egypt become the father to Pharaoh (Genesis 45:8)? Vision. Vision is power. A fellow without vision is the equivalent of a blind man. Thank God for vision impaired technology but the truth is this if you put a blind fellow on a race track with a fellow with eyes sight, the fellow with eyes sight will obviously get to the finish line before the blind fellow. To attain God’s vision for your life in His own time, you need vision.

PRAYER POINT:Father, please help me to see things as you see them.

I SHALL BE THE HEAD PT3

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ex 3, Luke 6, Job 20, 1 Cor 7

Deuteronomy 28:13 and the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.

The head is the most important part of the body. The head simply means the leader, captain; one in charge e.t.c. The head bears a lot of responsibility because inside the head is the brain responsible for making decisions. Inside the head are two eyes. For the head to function properly, it needs good eyes. Luke 11:34 says the light of the body is the eye; therefore when thine is single, thy whole body is full of light. Without good eyes, the whole body will be in darkness. Matthew 6:23 says if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. The eye is an organ of vision. Therefore the head is responsible for vision. Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people perish. When we talk of vision, we mean spiritual vision i.e. seeing things the way God will sees them. The question is how does God see sin? He sees all sins as sin , there is no big sin or small sin ; all sins are sin. To be head means I will see sin as a sin i.e. I will see a lie as a sin not a white lie or blue lie. How does God see commitment to Him? Revelations 3:15 says I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. To God you either cold or hot, lukewarmness is an abomination to Him. To be the head means I will be very hot for the Lord. Spiritual vision also means following after the direction of God. To be the head means I will guide the people aright i.e. in the way of righteousness. When you say I shall be the head, what you are saying is that I will lead people in the part of righteousness.

There are several advantages of having a good vision or seeing things the way God sees them. One of it is one begins to see his or herself surrounded by opportunities. In 2 Kings 4:1-7 is the story of a woman in big debt. She had a small jar of oil and was surrounded by people with empty vessels. She was surrounded by opportunities but could not see it. She ran to the man of God and that one asked her what she had. She said she had nothing except a jar of oil. Because the man of God could see, he told her she was surrounded with vast number opportunities i.e. there are other people around her with empty vessels. He told her to go and borrow the empty vessels and pour her oil in them; their poverty will make her rich. An individual who sees things the way God sees them will see the need of the people around and from the need of the people become prosperous. The individual will see a need for a service or goods around him, and from providing the goods or service he will become rich. Another advantage is one begins to see a way where there is no way. When the children of Israel saw Goliath, they saw an unbeatable champion, 1 Samuel 17:20-58. Actually they saw challenging Goliath to a fight as suicide. When David came to the scene, he not only saw that Goliath was beatable,he saw that his head could actually be severed from his body too. He aimed at his unprotected skull and immediately Goliath fell, he took his huge sword and cut off his head.

KEY WORD: I shall be the head simply means I will begin to see things as God sees them not as men see them.It also means i will lead people in the path of righteousness.

I SHALL BE THE HEAD PT3

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ex 3, Luke 6, Job 20, 1 Cor 7

Deuteronomy 28:13 and the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them.

The head is the most important part of the body. The head simply means the leader, captain; one in charge e.t.c. The head bears a lot of responsibility because inside the head is the brain responsible for making decisions. Inside the head are two eyes. For the head to function properly, it needs good eyes. Luke 11:34 says the light of the body is the eye; therefore when thine is single, thy whole body is full of light. Without good eyes, the whole body will be in darkness. Matthew 6:23 says if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. The eye is an organ of vision. Therefore the head is responsible for vision. Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people perish. When we talk of vision, we mean spiritual vision i.e. seeing things the way God will sees them. The question is how does God see sin? He sees all sins as sin , there is no big sin or small sin ; all sins are sin. To be head means I will see sin as a sin i.e. I will see a lie as a sin not a white lie or blue lie. How does God see commitment to Him? Revelations 3:15 says I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. To God you either cold or hot, lukewarmness is an abomination to Him. To be the head means I will be very hot for the Lord. Spiritual vision also means following after the direction of God. To be the head means I will guide the people aright i.e. in the way of righteousness. When you say I shall be the head, what you are saying is that I will lead people in the part of righteousness.

There are several advantages of having a good vision or seeing things the way God sees them. One of it is one begins to see his or herself surrounded by opportunities. In 2 Kings 4:1-7 is the story of a woman in big debt. She had a small jar of oil and was surrounded by people with empty vessels. She was surrounded by opportunities but could not see it. She ran to the man of God and that one asked her what she had. She said she had nothing except a jar of oil. Because the man of God could see, he told her she was surrounded with vast number opportunities i.e. there are other people around her with empty vessels. He told her to go and borrow the empty vessels and pour her oil in them; their poverty will make her rich. An individual who sees things the way God sees them will see the need of the people around and from the need of the people become prosperous. The individual will see a need for a service or goods around him, and from providing the goods or service he will become rich. Another advantage is one begins to see a way where there is no way. When the children of Israel saw Goliath, they saw an unbeatable champion, 1 Samuel 17:20-58. Actually they saw challenging Goliath to a fight as suicide. When David came to the scene, he not only saw that Goliath was beatable,he saw that his head could actually be severed from his body too. He aimed at his unprotected skull and immediately Goliath fell, he took his huge sword and cut off his head.

KEY WORD: I shall be the head simply means I will begin to see things as God sees them not as men see them.It also means i will lead people in the path of righteousness.

BAD DREAMS, NIGHTMARES AND EVIL PROPHESIES

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 45, Mark 15, Job 11, Romans 15

Genesis 37:10 and he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said to him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down to thee to the earth?

BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 37:9-11

In Genesis 37:9-11 is a story we all know. Joseph stood before his father and brethren to tell them about a dream he had. In the dream, he saw the sun, the moon and eleven stars paying obeisance to him meaning his father and brothers were going to be his servants. Immediately Jacob heard this dream, he did something very interesting. Firstly he rebuked Joseph and rejected the dream; secondly he took note of the dream. This man did not wait for any pastor to come and reject the dream, right in the presence of Joseph he rejected the dream i.e. he refused to be a servant. The brothers instead of rejecting the bad dream they got angry at Joseph and his dream.

What do I do when I have nightmares or evil dreams? What do I when I get evil prophecies that something terrible is going to happen to me? The first thing you do is reject it. Immediately Jacob heard the dream, he rejected the dream. When you have a bad dream, immediately you wake up before talking to anyone reject the bad dream. If anyone comes to tell you of any bad dream or give you evil prophesy, right in their presence reject it. Numbers 14:28 says say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you. It is what you say in God’s ear that He will do. Let God hear you say ‘that evil dream or vision is not my portion’. In His hearing, reject that evil prophesy, dream or vision they saw about you. In His hearing, reject the vision or dream of death, failure or loss. The mistake many make today is once they have a bad dream or hear an evil prophesy or hear that something terrible will happen to them or their loved ones, they begin to panic and cry. Instead of rejecting the dream or vision they accept it, and unconsciously begin to expect it to happen. Brethren, it is what you expect that will come to pass. Proverbs 23:18 says your expectation shall not be cut off. Stop expecting evil prophesy or bad dreams to come to pass. Reject them immediately you hear them. The next thing Jacob did was he took note of the dream. He took note of the dream so as to put measures in place to ensure that the evil dream will not come to pass in his life. Take note of those evil prophesy and bad dreams; start praying and fasting. Ask the Lord to bring every counsel of the enemy to nothing over your life. The brothers of Joseph of accepted the dream and began to get angry at Joseph and his dream. By the time we get to Genesis 50:18, we see them bowing with their face to the earth begging to be Joseph’s servant. Jacob on the other rejected the dream, took note of it so as to pray.By the time we get to Genesis 47:10 we see Pharaoh (the most powerful man in the world at that time) bowing down to Jacob for prayers.

ACTION POINT: Reject every evil prophesy, vision, dream about you.

KEYS TO UNLIMITED GREATNESS

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 11-12, Matt 11, Neh 1, Acts 11

Jeremiah 29:11 for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

One of the questions we ask from time to time is what is God’s plan for our life? When the bible talks of an expected end, what is the meaning of an expected end? According to Joshua 1:8, the end God has promised for us is good success; to be successful in all endeavors. Good success to mean sustained success. To be the head always and never be the tail. The expected end according to 3 John 1:2 is for us to prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers. I am not talking of prospering at the expense of our soul. I am talking of prosperity that comes as a result of living a life of holiness, a life sold out to God completely. Also the expected end is unlimited greatness.

Three of the most essential things that you must have so that you can have unlimited greatness are vision, health and power. Let’s look at them briefly. Firstly vision, Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision the people perish. Which means where there is no vision, nobody becomes great. The bible makes it abundantly clear that when we talk about vision, it is whatever you see that you can have. In Genesis 13:14-17, God said to Abraham ‘lift up your eyes and look from where you are –northward, southward, westward, and eastward’. He said ‘whatsoever you see I will give it to you’. He then said ‘let me help you further, I want you to get up and walk in the breadth of the land because the more you walk the more you see’. Vision is very crucial to unlimited greatness. Secondly health, even if you have great vision, without health you cannot achieve much. You can have vision of greatness but if you are sick, it will be just a dream. 3 John 1:2 talks about prospering and been in health. Because without health, prospering becomes difficult. Moses was able to successfully lead the children of Israel out of Egypt all because of good health. According to Deuteronomy 34:7, Moses at the age of one twenty was still strong and healthy. The bible records that even his eyes were not dim. Only the healthy can dream of becoming a mighty evangelist that will win a million souls for Christ. Only the healthy can dream of becoming the president of a nation or inventing things. Thirdly power, I am referring to the power that only God can supply. Unlimited greatness comes with a lot of responsibilities and challenges. Isaiah 40:30-31 says even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall. No matter how strong you are, you will get tired one day but the bible further goes on to say that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Unlimited greatness will challenge your human ability; you need divine strength to cope. We need power to be witness for Jesus in the world. Acts 1:8 says you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Jesus in all areas of the world. Brethren to win a single soul for Jesus requires power talk less of winning a hundred or thousand or if you are greedy like me a million. According to Deuteronomy 8:18, we need power to get wealth.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I want to be great for you , please give me new vision, divine health and power.