“Where there is no vision, the people perish ...” (Pr.29:18) (KJV), Look around us. Notice the tall buildings, machines, streets, schools, hospitals, bridges, airplanes, ships. Look at our own homes: In the kitchen, sitting room, and bedroom. Everything we see that is man-made was first an idea, a dream, or a vision in someone's mind. All things start as ideas, dreams, or visions. Then, when that idea is implemented, it becomes a reality. Yes, all man-made creation starts as a thought in the mind. All great accomplishers have been people motivated by their dreams.
Vision management
believes that all realistic dreams, aspirations and visions can be achieved if well planned, managed and
cultivated by men who are open-minded, filled with faith in God and willing to
pay the price it takes.
The birth of a vision is
the starting point of success. A man without a vision lives an aimless life.
Vision overcomes fear and
hopelessness. It stimulates us to action and moves us from
complacency to higher spiritual levels. James 2:14-17
“What
does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have
works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of
daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and
filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the
body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have
works, is dead.”(NKJV)
What is a Vision?
1.
A
vision is a mental focus of the way things could be or should be in the near
future, A vision is not limited to what is happening currently. Vision goes beyond the present,
2.
A
vision is a deeply burning desire that motivates a leader to venture into new territories without allowing his
shortcomings to paralyze his progress.
3.
A vision transcends
the past and the present and focuses on the future. It is never bound by the
past or the present. Men who allow past failure or mistakes to interfere with
their vision soon fail.
4.
A vision transcends
time. Vision stretches reality beyond its current boundaries. It helps to guide
people from failure to success.
5.
A vision for ministry
is only given by God. It conveys God’s purpose and points to the direction that
God wants the ministry to follow.
Men with a Vision
It begins with hope and faith.
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen”.(NKJV).
Men who have a vision given by Gad have this
kind of faith. They are sure and certain
of what they hope for and do not yet see.
1. Men who are visionaries think big and
dream big. They visualize and test their dreams and ideas with God's Word and with what other achievers
have accomplished before time.
2.
Men
who are visionaries are not limited to past experiences. This is because God does not ignore our past experiences,
He builds on them: He incorporates
them into His vision. God's vision will never be hindered by past failures or experiences; He can miraculously transform
our past to establish a wonderful future.
3.
Men
who are visionaries have a sense of direction and purpose. They know where they are going and why. They are able
to explain and clarify the vision to their followers.
4. Men who are
visionaries are enthusiastic about God’s vision in their life. They are aggressive in their moves; they do not wait for
things to happen. They make things happen. They create strategic and
concrete plans to increase and heighten the
level of productivity. They are committed to the vision
5. Men who are
visionaries are willing to change. God brings changes along with the vision. His vision usually demands a new way of
dealing with situations. One has to
learn to accept change in order to do things God’s way, change in the way of
thinking and responding.
6. Men who are visionaries are careful not to
be side-tracked from their main calling. Many
doors of opportunities will open, and the visionary needs wisdom to know when to say no.
7. Men who are visionaries are open to new
ideas, new approaches and creativity. They do
everything within their power to keep the vision alive, exciting, and fresh.
8. Men who are visionaries do not allow the negativity of the
world to affect their faith. They are confident and strong believers (much
faith) in Christ. They know that even the
big problems are no-match for the Almighty God.
9. Men who are visionaries have great expectations, unwilling
to settle for just getting by. They believe
in themselves and are able to endure hard times. They seek encouragement from God’s Word and from other
believers.
Developing
a Vision
In order lo develop and
implement a God-given vision, we must understand the vision of God's plans for our lives and know
the requirements. We must know what it will take to fulfill the vision. We must know what it is
going to cost us. We must know what we need to do. Then we can build upon God's promises and not
upon our circumstances. We
cannot allow our environment to influence or limit the vision. This does not
mean that we should be
blind to our present situations, conditions, or barriers, but instead allow God to make a way out.
God can choose to use us
regardless of our situations and worldly qualifications. Consider, for example, Mother Teresa.
Earlier in life, she was just an average student, but she decided to move beyond
complacency to a deeper spiritual dimension. She was willing to put her faith into action.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
though a powerful orator, had no skills or talents. His family was not special and did not hold any political
connections. He was not a genius academically, but he allowed God to use him. God desires leaders whose
number one desire is to seek and fulfill His vision for their ministry, leaders
who have their minds set on
the vision rather than the circumstances around them.
A vision must be
God-centered to have a lasting impact. Any vision that is based on our abilities alone will be limited in
its scope. We can only dream as big as our imaginations allow, because we base our dreams on the
perceptions that we have. We base them on our environments, abilities, resources, information, and
legal realities. Our
vision cannot go beyond our societal and cultural boundaries nor override our organizational restrictions. The work of the Holy Spirit is
supernatural and without limitations. Since
human beings are creatures of limitation, only the Holy Spirit can give us a
true vision. God's vision is usually bigger than anything we can imagine.
Men who are visionaries invest their lives in their
vision. They do
not waste their precious time and talents fighting every battle that comes their way. They know that not
every battle is worth
fighting, so they spend their time working towards their goal. To them,
tomorrow is more
important than yesterday.
Sometimes it is not easy to grasp God's vision for our
ministry. Sometimes the vision may be surrounded with trials, hardships, crises, and misunderstandings.
Men may misunderstand
our motives, or the enemy may try to stop the progress of the vision. Nevertheless, God's vision is
empowering. Trials come to purify our motives and help us to refocus our vision on Jesus. In
the midst of trials we must always remember that God will only send us into battles that we can
win, as long as our motives are right.
God's vision requires hard work, commitment, discipline
and change. We do not fulfill God's vision for our lives with a soft edge. God's vision will take us
beyond our limitations
and obstacles. It is empowering, exciting and challenging. God's vision will cause us to grow in many areas of our lives. It will cause
us to do things we have never done before;
things we thought were beyond our abilities. Yes, God's vision is barrier-breaking and life-changing.
Guiding the Vision
We will always face a battle or an aggressive competition
from the enemy against our vision.
The competition can come in any form and from any direction, even from our close friends. It is our
responsibility to protect the vision. We ought to try to identify the following vision inhibitors and
protect ourselves.
1. Avoid being trapped in man's
traditions. Traditions can block the progress of a new vision. At the same
time we should be careful not to disregard tradition. Traditions can be updated. We can use traditions
as stepping stones to
something new. We can use traditions as
a bridge between the old and the new vision, between the past and the future.
2.
We
should not allow the fear of the unknown future to frighten us from stepping out in faith. As
leaders we need to team how to step out from our familiar surroundings, our comfort zone, into
the unknown. When we
take a risk, there is a possibility of failure. However, with good counsel, the chances of failing can
be minimized.
3. We are to avoid the spirit of
complacency. Revelation 3:15-18
"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish
you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor
hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, have become
wealthy, and have need of nothing'--and do not know that you are wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined
in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed,
that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with
eye salve, that you may see”.(NKJV). Be a person
of vigor and passion, not lazy and lukewarm. Be a go-getter! We ought to put our whole hearts and
effort into everything that we do.
4. We are to avoid becoming a
workaholic. Learn to take time for rest and spiritual renewal. We cannot be spiritually effective
if we are physically
exhausted and mentally stressed out. We need energy both mentally and spiritually to be able to
run with the vision. Even Jesus rested.
5.
We are to
avoid short-cuts in the things of God. God's vision is usually long-term, so do not try to
cash in for short-term rewards. In other words, do not sell the future for short-term gratification.
Nurture the vision to its fullest potential,
and pass it on to the next generation.
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