Quote:
Originally Posted by revrandy
Casting a Vision and catching a Reflection
“Without a vision the people perish.”
Can men become Visionaries when they constantly live in the past?
I was thinking this weekend this thought. What is a Vision?
I have a commute every weekday here in the San Joaquin Valley of about thirty miles or so to work. I can honestly tell you there has not been one day of my six plus years that I have ever regretted driving either way. While on the Freeway I-5 I can see for miles. To the East I can see the snow capped mountains and to the West I can see the mountains along the coast. On clear days I can see for about 150 miles both ways and it is absolutely beautiful. It always reminds me of the importance of having a vision.
The Vision is what drives us to complete the Masters Work by which we have been called. A Vision is what is set before us as we work our way to completing the work that God would have us to do. “The Fields are white unto Harvest” Gives us an insight that there is a Vision that God wants us to have when we look at the souls that inhabit this earth. There is progressive march that we should endure when we as Men of God take the responsibility to accept the mantle that has been placed on our shoulders to cast the Vision before the People and have them take up the battle cry of conquering a dry and thirsty land and bringing the Hope that we have to a lost and dying world.
Vision is what carries us thru times of Lean and times of Gain constantly working towards the Goals that God gives us in prayer and in our sight.
But I am wondering if we are really progressing when it seems that we are constantly looking behind us missing what we had or used to have. Jesus said in the New Testament that no man having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom. One man said Lord I will follow you but I will miss what I have at home and before I can follow you I will have to go back first and then I’ll come. It seems to me that every time I hear the Terms “Old Fashioned Revival” and “The Way It Used to Be” we are constantly looking back and not forward. In other words we looking at the reflections of the Visions we used to have and not casting new visions forward. We are pining for something that has long past and unless we answer the call of Jesus today we truly will not be fit for the kingdom of God.
Here is what happens when a man who is plowing looks back. The rows he is plowing become crooked and instead of keeping with straight lines to complete the Harvest he no longer has the vision he once had and after all the Work of planting when he looks upon field all he sees is the crooked lines and the mess and can no longer see a successful harvest. Then he begins to look at past fields where his vision was cast and fresh and he didn’t look back but kept his vision straight and planted correctly and reaped a great Harvest and he longs for the days of old. And now when he plants he can’t keep his vision of what is to come for the reflections of what he used to be.
I am telling you today.... KEEP THE VISION FRESH..
Stop looking at past harvests and stop wishing you had the fields you used to have. God has a new Field for you to plant with a FRESH harvest for you to gather. All you have to do is stop looking behind you and start looking ahead. Stop talking about what we used to have or the way things used to. Stop saying you wished you could go back to those days. I am telling you today those things are gone. They were yesterday. God has a New Vision for you today. All you have to do is begin looking ahead and not behind.
Don’t live in the reflections of past Visions. Let God instill a New Fresh Vision in you Today!
Just some thoughts..
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The Dreams of the Old, The Vision of the Young
Some mighty good thoughts there, Brother Randy
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
We are, indeed, living in the last days. God is pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh. The new generation is taking up the mantle of the old and they are carrying the Gospel to the regions beyond.
There was an elderly preacher I knew who has gone on to his reward. To me, he was more than a preacher. He was a prophet. Though old in years, with failing eyesight and hearing, T. Grady Reece still carried a fresh Word from the Lord. And, he had dreams. He had a dream of turning his farm into a Campground. A place where people would come and spend days and nights basking in the warmth of a fresh outpouring of Holy Ghost and Fire. A place where people could pray together, or, in solitude. A place where the pure Word of God, free from denominational restriction, could be taught and preached. A place where young men and women, feeling the call of God in their lives, would be free to excercise their gifts and be used of God. A place where the Name of Jesus would be honored and glorified.
That was the dream of T. Grady Reece. But, he was too old. The farm needed alot of work. The church, actually a converted barn, was entirely too small to fulfill Bro. Reece's dream. It seemed his dream would go to the grave with him.
One day, while visiting the farm, known locally as Potts Branch, a young preacher heard Bro. Reece tell of his dream. He saw the glint in the eyes of this servant of God as he spoke of the crowds he dreamed would filter into that valley. He listened intently as Bro. Reece told of the Tabernacle that would be erected where preachers from all over would preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
While in prayer a day or so later, the Lord spoke to the young preacher. "It is in this valley that you will find your blessing". The young preacher had heard the dream, now it was up to him to make it a vision. Not he alone. Overtime, other "young men" caught the vision. From Tennessee, Florida, from S. Carolina. and from there in N. Carolina, "young visionaries" were called to the hills of Western North Carolina to fulfill Bro. Reeces dream. They worked hard to turn that dream into a vision. And, today, Potts Branch is a gathering place for people who wish to seek God. The hills of N. Carolina ring with the joyous praise of the people of God. That young preacher who helped turn a dream into a vision? Yep, that was me.
Its important for us to remember our past. Our past gives us our direction into the future. We must remember the past, but not live in it. The dreams of yesterday are gone, but the vision of today, and of tomorrow, lives on in the hearts of young men and women who have been endued with God's Spirit.
A minister had a dream of a forum where Apostolic Chritians could communicate in freedom. Sure, there would be disagreements. There would be debates. But, along the way, people would come together to discuss the Word of God. That minister is gone now. His dream went to the grave with him. But that dream has been reborn in the vision of posters of AFF from all over the country. They still disagree sometimes. They still debate on occasion. But, true to the dream, the Word of God is discussed. The only difference is...its now a vision. A vision of the present. A vision of the future.
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