The Vision Imperative, 3: Stepping Into God’s Provision | Mac Hammond
 
Recap
 
Pastor Mac continued his Vision 2025 series entitled, “The Vision Imperative.” The Word of God tells us that having vision is an absolute imperative to His purposes for our lives. It’s not something we can avoid. And it doesn’t matter what a person of faith you may be, how often you come to church, or how spiritual you think you are, the Word says in Proverbs 19:18 that “without a vision, the people perish.” If you’re a person, then that’s talking about you! You need a vision for your life—a God-given vision.
 
If you would like to hear more of Pastor Mac’s message, click here.
 
Dive Deeper
 
All the things in the Word of God that builds us up, prepares us, and empowers us mean nothing if we don’t have vision to direct the equipping of God.
 
The Word of God quips us to do something in particular. That “something in particular” is the calling that God’s given to each of us… the assignment He’s given to all believers.
 
Every believer has one.
 
Pastor Mac said many people have said to him, “Well, I’m not called to the ministry.” Meaning, they do not believe the call upon their lives is significant.
 
However, every call is significant!
 
The Word says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered the heart of man…” This means you’re not going to get vision from another person or any other source other than God the Holy Spirit. And this is also a commentary on the magnitude of the vision God has for your life.
 
Pastor Mac says, “I think we don’t really have, in the natural sense, an understanding of how much God wants us to be in Him and in this earth. And so when there’s no vision, all of the equipping, all of the study, the prayer, the faith, goes for nothing. It is the Bible that equips us for one purpose and that’s to realize the vision of God.”
 
Having no vision is like being dressed up with nowhere to go. If there’s “no place to go,” that means people will perish. Having no vision is a slide down toward death and cursing.
 
The last part of Proverbs 29:18 says, “but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” This tells us what vision is, in that the Word of God is the foundation of all vision. It tells us how to view the world in which we live. It provides us with moral and ethical boundaries that our specific vision from God needs to be built upon.
 
Vision starts with the Word of God. It is the general will of God for all believers of all ages.
 
Your personal vision from God is revealed to you through the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 2:9–10 says, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
 
Habakkuk 2:2 says, “And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” Having a clearly defined vision will give clarity to not only you but to those that join you in fulfilling your vision.
 
Habakkuk helps give us clarity as to how the vision is developed. Having clarity will generate direction and momentum in your life.
 
Luke 16:12, “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”
 
This verse tells us there is a prerequisite for getting clarity of your vision. If you’ve never been faithful in that which is another man’s, “who shall give you that which is your own?” When you help someone else with his/her vision, more clarity will come to you for your vision.
 
When a person becomes born again after making a commitment to the Lord, the first vision he/she is going to have an opportunity to get faithful in is that of the local church. And one of the ways you serve that ministry by bringing people to church.
 
Once you get clarity as to what your vision is, the challenge then is “how do you get started?” You know what to do, but you don’t know how to start it.
 
The first thing to do is acknowledge the truth that you can never achieve your God-given vision in your own human effort. You can’t fulfill the vision God has for you on your own effort. It can only be fulfilled through Him, through His empowerment.
 
For the balance of the vision messages, Pastor Mac will teach on three principles that govern empowerment. There are three things you do to open your life to the empowerment of God.
 
Read About It
 
First Corinthians 2:9–10, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
 
Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
 
Habakkuk 2:2, “And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”
 
Luke 16:12, “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”
 
Discussion Questions
 
All vision starts with… what?
What is the general will of God for all believers?
What is the prerequisite to getting clarity for your own vision?
 

These sermon notes are from the opening minutes of this weekend’s message. If you would like to hear the entire message, click on the link above.

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